IN  MEMORIAJA 
Johii  Swett 


/■ft/ 


Text- Book 


ON 


RHETORIC, 


SUPPLEMENTING   THE 


Development  of  the  Science  with  Exhaustive 
Practice  in   Compositio7i, 


A  Course  of  Practical  Lessons  adapted  for  Use  in 

High-Schools  and  Academies  and  in  the 

Lower  Classes  of  Colleges. 


BY 

BRAINERD    KELLOGG,   A.M., 

Professor  of  the  English  Language  and  Literature  in  the  Brooklyn  Collegiate  and 

Polytechnic  Institute^  and  one  of  the  Authors  of  Reed  Ssr'  Kellogg  s  ''''Graded 

Lessons  in  English''^  and  '"''Higher  Lessons  in  English^ 


NEW    YORK: 

CLARK   &    MAYNARD,    Publishers, 

5  Barclay  Street. 


Language  Lessons  :  Grammar— Composition. 


A    COMPLETE    COURSE   IN    TWO    BOOKS    ONLY. 


THE    BEST    AND    THE    CHEAPEST. 


/.    GRADED  LESSONS  IN  ENGLISH: 

An  Elementary  English  Grammar,  consisting  of  One  Hundred 
Practical  Lessons,  carefully  graded  and  adapted  to  the  class- 
room.    l6o  pages,  i6mo      Bound  in  linen. 

//.   HIGHER  LESSONS  IN  ENGLISH: 

A  Work  on  English  Grammar  and  Composition,  in  which 
the  science  of  the  language  is  made  tributary  to  the  art  of 
expression.  A  course  of  Practical  Lessons,  carefully  graded, 
and  adapted  to  every-  day  use  in  the  school-room.  280  pages, 
i6mo.     Bound  in  cloth. 


ALONZO  REED,  A.M.,   &  BRAINERD  KELLOGG,  A.M., 

Instructor  in  English  Gramjnar  in  the        Professor  of  English  Language   and 
Brooklyn  Collegiate  and  Polytechnic  Literature  in  the  Brooklyn  Collegi- 

Institute.  ate  and  Polytechnic  Institute. 


The  two  books  completely  cover  the  ground  of  Grammar  and 
Composition,  from  the  time  the  scholar  usually  begins  the  study  of 
grammar  until  it  is  finished  in  the  High-School  or  Academy. 


Copyright,  1880,  by  BRAINERD  KELLOGG, 


PREFACE. 


The  delightful  Portia,  in  the  "  Merchant  of  Venice," 
says,  "  If  to  do  were  as  easy  as  to  know  what  were  good  to 
do,  chapels  had  been  churches,  and  poor  men's  cottages 
princes'  palaces."  This  sentence,  long  ringing  in  the 
author's  ears,  has  had  its  profound  truth  confirmed  to 
him  daily  in  his  attempts  to  teach  pupils  rhetoric. 

No  professor  of  music,  text-book  as  well  as  instructor, 
sits  down  before  his  pupil,  expounds  the  principles 
upon  which  the  art  rests,  explains  how  this  and  that 
piece  should  be  rendered,  instances  model  performers, 
warns  the  pupil  against  the  errors  into  which  he  is  liable 
to  fall,  and  then  goes  away  imagining  that  his  work  is 
done,  and  that  the  youth  is  now,  or,  under  such  training, 
is  likely  ever  to  become,  a  musician.  In  addition  to  all 
this  teaching,  how  many  scores  of  times  does  he  compel 
the  practice,  under  his  watchful  eye  and  ear,  of  every  scale 
and  selection,  insist  upon  the  proper  giving  of  every 
note,  attend  to  the  manipulation  of  all  the  organs  con- 
cerned in  its  making;  and  how  rejoiced  is  he  if,  even 
with  such  minute  and  painstaking  instruction,  the 
pupil  grows,  under  his  tuition,  into  a  tolerable  singer 
or  player! 

But  in  teaching  the  art  of  arts,  the  art  of  thinking  and 
expressing  thought,  text-books  stop  short  with  the  de- 
velopment of  the  science,  with  the  presentation  of  its 
principles,  adding,  it  may  be,  for  correction,  some  sen- 
tences violating  these;  their  authors  thinking  that  th^ 

r>  1  \U2 


4  Preface. 

teacher  will  take  up  their  unfinished  task,  and,  without 
models,  outlines,  hints — work  of  any  kind  laid  out  for 
him — will  go  on  to  teach  the  pupil  to  translate  into 
product,  and  so  make  available  in  his  speech,  the  theory- 
unfolded,  the  knowledge  imparted.  If  this  were  all  that 
teachers  require  of  a  text-book  on  rhetoric,  surely  there 
would  be  no  call  for  another;  least  of  all  men  would  the 
author  of  this  have  felt  himself  summoned  to  write  one. 
He  has  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  could  improve  upon 
the  scientific  treatises,  the  philosophies  of  rhetoric,  al- 
ready extant — many  of  which,  and  among  these  some  of 
the  oldest,  are  admirable  of  their  kind.  But  the  cry  com- 
ing up  from  teachers  on  all  sides  is,  that  they  need  some- 
thing more — something  which,  unfolding  fully  and  clearly 
the  principles  of  the  science,  shall  go  on  immediately  to 
mark  out  work  for  the  pupil  to  do  with  his  pen  in  illus- 
tration and  as  fruit  of  what  he  has  learned,  and  shall  exact 
the  doing  of  it — and  this  not  in  the  recitation-room,  but 
in  preparation  for  it,  and  as  the  burden  of  his  lesson. 

Believing,  with  such  teachers,  that  the  rhetoric  needed 
is  not  that  whose  facts  receive  final  lodgment  in  the 
pupil's  memory,  but  that  whose  teachings  are  made  to 
work  their  way  down  out  of  this  into  his  tongue  and 
fingers,  enabling  him  to  speak  and  to  write  the  better 
for  having  studied  it;  believing  that  the  aim  of  the 
study  should  be  to  put  the  pupil  in  possession  of  an  art, 
and  that  this  cannot  be  done  simply  by  forcing  the 
science  into  him  through  eye  and  ear,  but  must  be  largely 
by  drawing  it  out  of  him,  in  products,  through  his  tongue 
and  his  pen; — believing  this,  the  author  has  prepared  this 
work,  in  which  all  explanations  of  principles  are  fol- 
lowed and  supplemented  by  exhaustive  practice  in  com- 
position. 

The  plan   pursued  is  simple;  the  work  stands  under 


Preface.  5 

three  heads — Invention,  Qualities  of  Style,  and  Produc- 
tions. 

Great  stress  is  laid  upon  Invention,  the  finding  of  the 
thought,  that  most  important  element  in  discourse  of 
any  kind.  Thirty  lessons,  more  than  a  third  of  the 
whole  number,  are  devoted  to  this.  While,  strictly 
speaking,  rhetoric  cannot,  nothing  can,  teach  the  pupil 
to  think,  he  can  be  brought  into  such  relations  with  his 
subject  as  to  find  much  thought  in  it,  get  much  out  of 
it,  and  he  can  be  led  to  put  this  into  the  most  telling 
place  in  his  oral  and  written  efforts.  Explaining,  then, 
what  thinking  is,  what  thought  is,  and  what  a  sentence 
is  as  the  embodiment  of  a  thought  and  the  instrument 
for  its  expression,  the  author  leads  the  pupil  up  through 
the  construction  of  sentences  of  all  conceivable  kinds, 
from  the  simplest  to  the  most  intricate — transformed  by 
substitution,  contraction,  and  expansion — through  the 
synthesis  of  sentences,  in  their  protean  forms,  into  para- 
graphs, and  through  the  analysis  of  subjects  and  the 
preparation  of  frameworks,  to  the  finding  of  thought 
for  his  themes. 

Under  Qualities  of  Style,  running  through  more  than 
100  pages,  the  pupil  is  made  familiar  with  the  six  grand, 
cardinal  ones — perspicuity,  imagery,  energy,  wit,  pathos, 
and  elegance, — learns  in  detail  what  he  must  do  to  secure 
these,  and  has  placed  before  him  pages  of  rare  extracts 
from  English  writers,  for  the  critical  study  of  style. 

Under  Productions,  all  discourse  is  divided  into  oral 
and  written,  and  written  into  prose  and  poetry.  These 
are  subdivided,  and  the  requisites  and  functions  of  the 
grand  divisions  and  of  their  subdivisions  are  explained. 
Special  attention  is  given  to  those  productions  exacted 
of  the  pupil — conversation,  debates,  orations,  and  letters. 
The  rhythm  and  the  metre  of  poetry  are  made   level  to 


6  Preface, 

his  comprehension,  and  extracts  are  given  for  the  criti- 
cal study  of  poetry. 

But  whether,  under  the  head  of  Invention,  the  author 
is  conducting  the  pupil  up  through  the  construction  of 
sentences  and  paragraphs,  and  through  the  analysis  of 
subjects  and  the  preparation  of  frameworks,  to  the  find- 
ing of  thought  for  his  themes;  or,  under  the  head  of 
Style,  he  is  acquainting  him  with  its  cardinal  qualities; 
or,  under  the  head  of  Productions,  he  is  dividing  and 
subdividing  discourse,  noting  the  nature  and  the  offices 
of  each  division; — in  it  all  he  is  keeping  in  sight  the  fact 
that  the  pupil  is  to  acquire  an  art,  and  that  to  attain 
this  he  must  put  into  almost  endless  practice,  with  his 
pen,  what  he  has  learned  from  the  study  of  the  theory. 

In  particular,  the  author  would  add  that  the  kindred 
and  adjacent  studies  by  which  rhetoric  is  bounded  are 
pointed  out,  so  that  the  pupil  learns,  at  the  start,  what  is 
the  territory  he  is  to  traverse;  that  schemes  for  the  re- 
view of  sections  are  scattered  through  the  book;  that  a 
table  of  contents,  through  which  run  a  rigid  co-ordina- 
tion and  subordination  of  essential  points,  each  brack- 
eted in  its  proper  place,  may  be  found  following  the  in- 
dex ;  that  the  sentences  used  in  the  work  have  been 
gleaned  from  many  writers,  and  often  have  been  manipu- 
lated to  suit  the  author's  need,  so  that  they  are  seldom 
credited  to  any  one,  or  enclosed  within  quotation  marks; 
and  that  capitalization  and  punctuation  are  taught  where 
they  are  to  be  used,  and  as  an  essential  part  of  the  sen- 
tence itself. 

Polytechnic  Institute,  June  i,  1880. 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Addresses 205,  206 

Allegories 213 

Alliteration 173-178,  249 

Allusions 120,  121 

Ambiguity 93 

Anti-climax 149 

Antithesis 124-126 

Apostrophe,  The 123,  124 

Apostrophe,  Rules 22,  24 

Arrangement:  Words, Phrases, 

and  Clauses 104-106 

Autobiography,  An 225 

Barbarism,  A 96,  97 

Biographies 224,  225 

Brackets,  Rule 36 

Burden  of  Proof 200,  201 

Burlesque,  A 163,  165-170 

Caesura,  The 238,  239 

Campbell's  Canons 94,  95 

Capital  Letters 22,  35 

Clauses 27,  28 

Adjective 28,  29 

Adverb  30-33 

Complex 40-43 

Compound 40-43 

Independent 28,  37,  38 

Noun 33-35 

Climax 148-151 

Colon,  Rules.. .    36,  42 

Comma,  Rules.  ..22,  24,  25,  27,  29, 
31.  35.  38 


PAGE 

Comparison,  The 111-115 

Composition,  A 65 

Compromise,   The 152-154 

Contraction 43-50 

Conversation 198,  199 

Copula,  The 21 

Dash,  Rules 29,  38,  42,  43 

Debates 200,  201 

Dialogue 156-158 

Discourse,  Divided 196 

Oral 195-207 

Written 207-276 

Elegance 171-178 

Elision 239 

Energy 136-160 

Essays 225,  226 

Exclamation 156-158 

Exclamation  Point,  Rule 22 

Expansion 51-53 

Fables 213 

Fiction 211-213 

Figures  of  Speech 111-134 

Frameworks 73-8o 

Grammar 14 

Harangues 205 

Histories 208-210 

Homonyms 163 

Humor 164-170 

Hyperboles 130 

Hyphen,  Rules 24 

Ideas 20,  21 


Index, 


PAGE 

Idioms 145-147 

Imagery 111-134 

Basis  of Ill,  112 

Discrimination  of  ..131-133 

Interrogation.. 156-158 

Interrogation  Point,  Rule. . .      22 

Invention ig-8i 

Irony 162,  165-170 

Lectures 205,206 

Letters 213,  214 

Letter- Writing 214-224 

Logic 14 

Marks  of  Parenthesis 43 

Mastery  of  the  Subject 85,  86 

Memoir,  A 225 

Metaphor,  The 115-117 

Metaphors,  Faded 118 

So-called  Mixed. .  .118-120 

Metonymy,  The  126-128 

Metre 245-248 

Modifiers,  Complex 26,  27 

Compound 24-26 

Simple 21,  23 

Mock-Heroic,  The.  .163,  165-170 

Oration,  The. . , ,  201  -204 

Parables 213 

Paragraphs 57-73 

Parody,  A 163,165-170 

Pathos 165-170 

Period,  The. . .  o,   151-154 

Period,  Rules. , . . , 22 

Personification 121- 123 

Perspicuity ....   83-110 

Pleas 206 

Poem,  A....,c ,.   234 

Poetry. 228-276 

Feet  of ...233-236 

Form  of ...... .    .231-251 

Kmds  of 251-256 


PAGE 

Poetry,  Mission  of 228-230 

Style  of 230,  231 

Precision 90-92 

Predicate,  The 21,  139 

Presumption 200,  201 

Productions 195-276 

Pronouns,  Use  of. . . 93,  94 

Propriety 90-92 

Proverbs 146-148 

Publication 15 

Pun,    A 163,165-170 

Purity 95-97 

Quotation  Marks 35 

Quotations 146 

Recollection 20 

Redundancy 98-100 

Rhetoric,   Definition 13-15 

Usage  in 16,  17 

Value  of 17-19 

Rhyme 248-250 

Line 249 

Rhythm 174-178,  231-245 

Ridicule 162,  165-170 

Sarcasm 162,  165-170 

Satire 162,  165-170 

Scansion.    234,  236-245 

Schemes  for  Review.  .80,  81,  110, 
135,  160,  171,  178,  227,  260 

Semicolon,  Rules 35,  38 

Sentence,  The 13 

Unity  of 107-109 

i    Sentences,  Complex. 27-36,  39,  40 
I  Compound. .  .27,28,  37-401 

1  Loose 151-154 

I  Simple 19-27,  39,  40 

!    Sermons 206,  207 

i    Simile .111-115 

i    Solecism,  A 97 

i   Speeches 204,  205 


Lidex, 


Stanza,  A 234 

Style 83,  84 

Qualities  of 83-194 

Styles,  Names  of 179,  180 

Subject,  The 21,139 

Subjects,  Analysis  of 78-80 

Substitution.. 43-54 

Synecdoche,  The 128,  129 

Synonyms ^ 90-92 

Tautology 98-100 

Theme,  The 65-73 

Thinking 19-21 

Thought,  A 20,  21 

Travels 210,  211 

Treatises 207 

Tropes 129,   130 

Variety 155-159 

Verbosity 98-100 


PAGE 

Verse 233 

A 233 

Blank 250 

Vision 156-158 

Wit 161-170 

Words,  Difficult 89,  90 

Foreign 94-97 

New 94-97 

Obsolete 94-97 

Omission  of loi,  143 

Order  of 139,  140 

Simple 86-88 

Specific 137-139 

Too  few  of 101-103 

Transposed 139-143 

Use  of  86-103 

Writing 15 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


EHETORIC. 


in 

o 


I 


L  Construction  of  Simple  and  Compound  Sentences,  and  of 
Complex  Sentences  with  Adj.,  Adv.,  or  Noun  Clauses,  and 
with  Clauses  Complex  or  Compound. 
II.  Forming  of  Paragraphs. 

III.  Analysis  of  Subjects. 

IV.  Preparation  of  Frameworks. 

I.  Mastery  of  the  Subject. 

a.  Simple. 


I.  Perspicuity 

(Depends  on) . . . 


11.  Imagery.... 


b.  Precise,      c. 
Unambiguous,     d.  Repu- 

2.  Use  of  Words.  {  table.  National,  and  Pres- 
ent, e.  Moderate  Num- 
ber. /.  Sufficient  Number. 

3.  Arrangement  of  Words,  Phrases,  and  Clauses. 

4.  Unity  of  the  Sentence. 

I.  The  Comparison,  or  Simile.  2.  The  Meta- 
phor. 3.  Personification.  4.  Antithesis.  5. 
The  Metonymy.     6.  The  Synecdoche. 


fi.  Specific   Words.      2.  Transposed   Order   of 

III.  Energy        J      Words  and  Phrases.     3.  Omission  of  Words. 

(Secured  by)....  I      4.   Idioms,    Proverbs,   and   apt    Quotations. 

L     5.  The  Climax.     6.  The  Period.     7.  Variety. 


IV.  Wit 

V.  Pathos. 
VI.  Elegance 

\,       (Secured  by)... 


1 1.  Satire.     2.  Sarcasm. 
\      5.   Humor. 


3.  Ridicule.    4.  Irony. 


1 1.  Beauty  of  the  Thought.    2.  Euphony.  3.  Allit- 
'      eration.    4.  Flowing  Sentences.     5.  Rhythm. 


Contents, 


II 


I.  Prose.. 


o 

H 

P 

O 


I.  Oral. . . 


2.  Written. 


a.  Conversation,  b.  Debates,  c. 
Orations,  d.  Speeches,  e.  Lec- 
tures and  Addresses.  /.  Pleas. 
h.  Sermons. 

a.  Treatises.  b.  Histories.  c. 
Travels,  d.  Letters,  e.  Biog- 
raphies.   /.  Essays.  , 


11.  Poetry.. 


1.  Mission. 

2.  Style. 
a.  Rhythm. 

3.  Form....  \  b.  Metre. 
c.  Rhyme. 


4.  Kinds  of.  ^ 


a.  Didactic.  . 

b.  Satirical. 

d.  Pastoral. 

e.  Epic. 

/.  Dramatic.  ]^°"^^^y- 
^  -^  <  Tragedy. 


RHETORIC. 


LESSON  1. 

INTRODUCTO  RY. 

What  Rhetoric  is. — We  talk  and  we  write  to  make 
known  our  thoughts,  and  we  do  it  in  sentences,  the  sen- 
tence being  the  universal  and  necessary  form  of  oral 
and  of  written  communication.  In  every  sentence 
there  are  the  words  arranged  in  a  certain  order  and 
addressed  to  the  ear  or  to  the  eye  ;  and  there  is  that 
which  these  words  express  and  impart,  itself  unheard 
and  unseen,  but  reaching  the  mind  of  the  hearer  or 
reader  through  the  words  which  he  hears  or  sees. 
That  which  these  words  express  we  call  a  thought,  and 
hence 

A  sentence  is  the  verbal  expression  of  a  thought. 

Now,  xhetoric  deals  with  the  thought  of  the  sentence 
g.nd  with  the  words  which  express  It,  and  so  its  function 
is  twofold.  It  teaches  us  how  to  lind  the  thought,  and 
how  best  to  express  it  in  words.  In  this,  its  twofold 
function,  rhetoric  works  near  neighbor  to  grammar  and 
to  logic.  Grammar,  as  well  as  rhetoric,  deals  with  the 
words  of  a  sentence;  and  logic,  as  well  as  rhetoric,  deals 
with  thought ;  but  the  fields  of  the  three,  though  lying 
side  by  side,  are  distinct. 

The  better  to  see  the  field  which  rhetoric  tills,  it  is 


14  Introductory. 


needfiil,  without  attempting  complete  definitions,  to  say 
that  gc&.raxa^r  teaches  us  the  offices  of  single  words  in 
the  sentence,  and  of  those  groups  of  words  called 
phrases  and  clauses,  and  shows  us  what  forms  the  in- 
flected words  must  have  in  their  various  relations.  It 
teaches,  also,  how  to  construct  correct  sentences  contain- 
ing the  parts  of  speech  in  their  several  relations.  Logic 
deals  with  thought,  but  not  with  the  thought  in  single 
and  detached  sentences.  It  does  not  decide  whether  this 
thought  and  that  thought  are  true,  but  what  conclusion 
follows  from  them  if  we  assume  them  to  be  true.  It 
teaches  us  to  reason  correctly,  to  make  right  inferences, 
to  draw  just  conclusions. 

In  what  rhetoric  has  to  do  with  words^  it  begins  its 
work  where  that  of  grammar  ends.  It  teaches  us  how 
in  the  choice  and  arrangement  of  words  to  express  the 
thought  clearly  or  forcibly  or  gracefully — in  a  word,  how 
to  express  it  most  happily  for  the  special  purpose  in 
hand.  And  teaching  us  to  find  the  thought  with  which 
we  reason,  its  work  with  the  thought  ends  where  that  of 
logic  begins.  Rhetoric,  then,  lies  in  between  grammar 
and  logic.  The  word  side  of  its  field  touches  the  field  of 
grammar,  the  thought  side  of  it  touches  the  field  of  logic, 
and  hence 

Rhetoric  is  the  study  which  teaches  us  how  to  invent 
tffought,  and  how  to  express  it  most  appropriately  in  words. 

What  the  Word  Rhetoric  Means.— We  have  seen 

what  the  thing  is;  look  now  at  its  name.  The  word  rhet- 
oric comes  originally  from  a  Greek  verb  which  means 
to  flow  or  to  speak.  Were  we  to  name  the  study  now,  it 
is  possible  that  we  should  take  some  word  which  means 
to  write.  But  rhetoric  was  studied  before. writing  be- 
came general,  and  ages  and  ages  before  printing  was  in- 


Introductory.  1 5 


vented.  Men  spoke  long  before  they  wrote,  because 
speaking  was  easy.  The  air,  the  lungs,  and  the  organs 
of  the  throat  and  mouth  were  ready  and  waiting  to  be 
used. 

Writing  was  at  first  impossible,  and  for  a  long  while 
difficult  after  it  became  possible.  There  were  needed 
(i)  an  alphabet,  and  (2)  something  upon  which  to  write. 
Letters,  characters  which  would  represent  to  the  eye 
the  sounds  which  the  voice  addressed  to  the  ear,  had  to 
be  invented.  And  that  this  was  not  an  easy  task  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  even  to-day  we  have  not  in  Eng- 
lish a  perfect  alphabet  ;  some  of  the  twenty-six  letters 
standing  each  for  many  sounds,  some  having  no  sounds 
belonging  exclusively  to  them,  and  some  combinations 
of  letters  being  used  to  represent  single  sounds.  That 
it  was  hard  to  find  a  suitable  substance  on  which  to  write, 
a  few  words  attest.  From  pa7'chine?it  we  learn  that  the 
cleansed  and  dried  skins  of  sheep,  hares,  goats,  and 
calves  were  used,  and  from  palimpsest^  that  removing  the 
writing,  so  that  the  skin  could  be  used  again,  became  a 
business  ;  from  paper^  that  the  thin,  cohesive  layers  of 
the  stem  of  the  papyrus,  an  Egyptian  plant,  served  as  a 
material  ;  from  ostracism  and  petalism^  that  in  voting  at 
Athens  to  banish  a  citizen,  a  clay  tile  or  a  shell  was 
used,  and  at  Syracuse  an  olive-leaf  ;  from  style^  that  sur- 
faces smeared  with  wax  were  prepared  ;  from  liber  and 
library^  that  the  bark  of  trees,  and  from  book^  that  beechen 
tablets  were  resorted  to. 

Publication,  then,  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  was 
by  the  voice — De  Quincey  says  the  voice  of  the  actor,  and 
that  of  the  speaker  on  the  bema,  or  platform.  This  must 
largely  have  determined  (i)  what  kind  of  literature 
should  be  cultivated,  and  (2)  the  style  in  which  this 
should   be   composed.     In   the   main   that  was   written 


1 6  Introductory. 


which  could  be  recited  or  spoken,  and  it  was  written  so 
that  it  could  be  appreciated  by  the  listener.  To  this 
noteworthy  fact  modern  literature  is  signally  indebted. 
Its  lawgivers  in  Europe  and  America  are  those  whose 
style  was  purified  and  perfected  by  the  study  of  the  great 
models  which  Athens  and  Rome  furnished,  or  by  the  study 
of  those  writers  who  had  made  these  their  models.  It  is 
much  for  us  that  these  models  were  themselves  shaped 
by  the  necessity  of  oral  communication.  They  were  to 
be  addressed  to  the  ear  and  not  to  the  eye ;  their  mean- 
ing and  merit  caught  by  the  hearer  as  the  speaker 
hurried  on  from  sentence  to  sentence.  Such  discourse 
must  have  had,  and  did  have,  the  great  and  essential 
qualities  of  style — simplicity,  clearness,  directness,  and 
vigor.  The  writer  who  is  accustomed  to  speaking,  and 
who  brings  his  sentences  to  this  test,  is  the  one  most 
likely  to  learn  the  secret  of  expression,  the  art  of  "putting 
things."     And  this  leads  us  to  speak  of 

Usage  as  Authority  in  Rhetoric. — There  is  no  reason, 

in  the  nature  of  things,  why  an  English  noun  in  the  nomi- 
native plural  should  always  have  its  verb  in  the  plural 
— the  Greek  noun  in  the  neuter  did  not ;  or  why  English 
words  should  be  spelled  and  accented  and  pronounced 
as  they  now  are  —  they  have  not  always  been.  The 
reason  why  these  things  are  as  they  are  is,  that  the 
people  who  use  the  language  have  agreed  that  they 
should  be  so,  and  not  otherwise.  The  grammar  and 
the  dictionary  of  to-day  are  full  of  truths  which  have  not 
always  been  truths,  and  will  not  always  be  ;  in  other 
words,  their  truths  are  not,  like  those  of  mathematics, 
unchangeable.  They  are  conventional,  depend  upon 
consent ;  are  true  as  long  as  that  consent  is  given  ; 
cease  to  be  true  when  that  consent  is  withdrawn. 


Introductory,  1 7 


So  in  rhetoric.  While  rhetoric  is  based  upon  princi- 
ples as  changeless  as  the  mind  which  thinks  and  imparts 
thought,  in  that  department  of  its  work  which  is  con- 
cerned with  expression  it  has  only  usage  as  authority 
for  what  it  teaches — the  usage  of  the  best  writers  and 
speakers.  And  this  is  variable,  changing  from  genera- 
tion to  generation.  While,  for  example,  it  must  always 
be  true  that  a  thought  should  be  expressed  clearly,  it  is 
not  true  that  an  expression  of  it,  clear  to  one  generation, 
will  necessarily  be  so  to  the  next.  Many  words  narrow 
in  meaning,  many  widen,  others  completely  change,  and 
some  words  drop  out  of  the  vocabulary.  Then,  too,  an 
arrangement  of  words  customary  at  one  time  is  not  at 
another.  A  use  of  imagery  suited  to  the  taste  of  one 
age  surfeits  the  next  ;  indeed,  what  was  imagery  once 
is  accounted  plain  language  now.  Conceits  and  turns 
of  expression  current  in  Sidney's  day  grate  harshly 
upon  our  ears  ;  and  who  would  not,  in  the  matter  of 
style,  appeal  from  Shakespeare  in  '^  Love's  Labor  Lost," 
to  Shakespeare  in  "As  You  Like  It"? 

Style,  then,  is  fluid  and  shifting.  Its  highest  stand- 
ard in  any  era  is  the  prevailing  usage  of  that  era.  What 
that  is  in  everything  cannot  easily  be  determined  ;  but,  as 
soon  as  it  is  ascertained  for  our  period,  we  must  bow  to 
it  as  the  supreme  authority. 

Value  of  Rhetoric. — i.  Dealing  with  invention,  the 

finding  of  the  thought,  or  subject-matter,  rhetoric  teaches 
us  to  think  ;  and  thinking  is  the  highest  act  of  which 
the  intellect  is  capable. 

2.  Dealing  with  expression,  about  which,  as  we  have 
:een,  there  may  be  a  question,  and  large  freedom  of 
choice,  rhetoric  stimulates  inquiry,  provokes  the  stu- 
dent to  silent  and  to  open  disputation,  compels  to  a  bal- 


1 8  hitroductory. 


ancing  of  reasons,  and  so  develops  an  independent  judg- 
ment. This  discipline  is  eminently  wholesome,  and 
prepares  one  for  the  affairs  of  life. 

3.  Rhetoric  gives  a  command  of  the  vocabulary.  Next 
to  having  something  to  say  is  the  ability  to  impart  it  in 
apt  words  fitly  arranged  in  the  sentences,  in  sentences 
happily  marshalled  in  the  paragraph,  in  paragraphs 
standing  to  each  other  in  their  natural  order. 

4.  Rhetoric  lays  literature  under  tribute.  Based,  as 
rhetoric  is,  upon  the  writings  of  the  great,  living  and 
dead,  it  opens  our  eyes  to  see,  and  educates  our  taste  to 
enjoy,  the  treasures  of  thought,  and  the  graces  of  style 
lavished  upon  them.  Of  all  the  arts  none  outranks 
literature.  Rhetoric  opens  this  to  our  possession  and 
enjoyment,  and  aims  to  make  us  artists  in  it. 

No  valid  objection  lies  against  the  study  of  rhetoric. 
It  allows  us  all  the  freedom  great  writers  and  speak- 
ers have  used,  acquaints  us  with  that  which  makes 
their  productions  classic,  and  bars  our  straying  away 
into  paths  they  have  shunned, — paths  which  lead  to 
harm.  It  checks  license,  but  not  liberty.  Only  a  false 
rhetoric,  one  that  narrows  usage,  forbidding  what  it 
allows  ;  that  enforces  a  bookish  diction,  and  puts  under 
ban  the  idioms  of  conversation  ;  insists  upon  an  arrange- 
ment, stiff  and  unnatural  ;  and  gives  such  emphasis 
to  manner  as  to  withdraw  proper  attention  from  the 
subject-matter  ; — only  such  a  rhetoric  could  be  hurt- 
ful. 

Let  us  add  that,  were  rhetoric  to  end  with  simply 
teaching  the  pupil  how  things  should  be  done,  its  study 
would  not  be  fruitless.  Rhetoric  bears  its  /////  fruit, 
however,  only  when,  in  addition  to  this,  it  leads  the  pupil 
to  do  them  as  they  should  be  done.  Not  rhetoric  in  the 
memory  alone,  enabling  one  to  criticise,  but  rhetoric  that 


Ideas,   Thtnkmgy  Thought,  19 

has  worked  its  way  down  into  the  tongue  and  into  the 
fingers,  enabling  one  to  speak  well  and  write  well,  is 
what  the  pupil  needs. 

To  the  Teacher. — See  to  it,  before  you  proceed,  that  the  pupils  un- 
derstand what  rhetoric  is,  and  how  it  is  related  to  kindred  studies,  and 
yet  differs  from  them. 

Allow  us  here,  on  the  very  threshold  of  the  study,  to  say  that  a 
large  part  of  the  pupil's  work  in  the  preparation  of  his  lessons  will  be 
composition.  This  is  that  to  which  everything  else  required  will  be 
made  subordinate.     Whatever,  then,  is  slurred,  do  not  allow  this  to  be. 


INVENTION. 


LESSON   2. 

SIMPLE    SENTENCES. 

What  Invention  is. — Thought  is  communicated  by 
means  of  words.  They  are  its  instrument,  its  servant. 
The  thought  determines  the  expression — the  worthy 
thought  prompting  to  a  worthy  expression,  the  worthless 
thought  allowing  a  poor  expression.  Both  in  time  and 
in  importance,  then,  the  thought  stands  first.  In  rhet- 
oric, to  invent  means  to  think.  As  a  department  of 
rhetoric. 

Invention  is  that  which  treats  of  the  finding  of  thought 
for  single  sentences,  for  continued  discourse. 

What  it  is  to  Think,  and  what  a  Thought  is.— By 
means  of  our  bodily  senses  the  mind  comes  face  to  face 
with  the  things  of  the  outer  world.     Through  the  senses 


20  Invention, 


the  mind  sees,  hears,  feels,  tastes,  and  smells — in  short, 
perceives.  Through  the  senses  it  receives  and  brings 
into  itself  and  stores  away  in  the  m.emory  impressions, 
images,  or  pictures,  of  the  things  perceived.  It  gets 
these  pictures,  too,  by  reading,  and  by  hearing  people 
speak — the  written  or  the  oral  word  presenting  these 
pictures  to  the  mind.  These  impressions,  or  images,  or 
pictures,  of  things  we  shall  call  ideas. 

That  the  mind  (foes  receive  and  store  away  these  ideas 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  we  can  bring  them  up  out  of 
the  memory,  look  at  them  with  what  we  may  call  the 
"  mind's  eye,"  and  through  them  perceive  again,  as  it 
were,  the  things  long  ago  seen,  heard,  felt,  tasted,  or 
smelt.  This  bringing  up  the  ideas  and  through  them 
perceiving  the  things  again  is  remembering,  recollecting. 
And  without  the  bodily  senses  the  mind  can  perceive — 
it  can  perceive  its  own  acts,-  facts,  thoughts,  feelings. 
These  are  already  in  the  mind,  and  so  need  no  bodily 
sense  to  bring  them  into  it. 

The  things  perceived  stand  in  some  relation  to  each 
other.  They  agree  or  they  disagree  with  each  other, 
and  so  the  ideas  we  get  of  them  through  our  senses 
must. 

To  think  is  to  detect  an  agreement  or  a  disagreement 
between  our  mental  pictures,  or  ideas,  and  to  unite  them. 
The  result  of  these  two  acts  of  detecting  and  uniting  is 
a  thought.  The  writer  or  speaker  detects  this  relation 
between  his  ideas,  puts  them  together,  and  then  expresses 
the  result  in  words.  In  reading  him  or  listening  to  him 
we  receive  these  ideas  in  the  form  of  thought.  By  our 
own  observation  we  get  them  as  single  and  detached 
ideas.  We  can  ourselves  convert  them  into  thought  im- 
mediately, or  can  lay  them  away  in  memory,  recall  them 
at  any  time  afterward,  and  fuse  them  into  thought.     Un- 


Simple   Sentences.  2 1 

combined,  they  are  the  raw  material  out  of  which 
thoughts  are  to  be  manufactured. 

If  these  ideas  are  united  in  the  relation  which  the 
things  they  picture  actually  hold  to  each  other,  the 
thought  is  true ;  if  in  some  other  relation,  the  thought  is 
untrue  or  false.  He  who  first  detects  the  relation  sub- 
sisting between  certain  ideas  and  unites  them  creates 
an  absolutely  original  thought ;  if  he  is  ignorant  that 
another  has  done  it  before  him,  the  thought  is  only  origi- 
nal with  himself. 

A  thought  is  produced  by  the  fusion  of  at  least  two 
ideas.  Birds  fly  —  Birds  are  flying.  Here  the  idea  de- 
noted by  birds  and  that  denoted  by  flying  are  brought  to- 
gether, and  in  the  sentence  are  coupled  by  the  copula 
are^  and  thus  one  is  affirmed  of  the  other.  Birds,  naming 
the  things  and  our  idea  of  the  things  of  which  some- 
thing is  to  be  affirmed,  is  the  subject  of  the  sentence  ; 
and  are  flying,  denoting  what  is  affirmed  and  affirming  it, 
IS  the  predicate. 

A  simple  sentence  is  one  that  contains  but  one  subject  and 
one  predicate,  either  of  which  may  be  compound. 

Other  words  may  be  brought  into  the  sentence  and 
grouped  about  the  subject  and  the  predicate.  The  words 
SO  used  are  (i)  adjectives  expressing  ideas  {a)  assumed;  as, 
Industrious ^^^o'^Xq,  can  be  found;  and  (t>)  asserted;  as,  The 
Chinese  are  ijtdustrious ;  are  (2)  adverbs  ;  as,  The  Gulf 
Stream  flows  rapidly ;  are  (3)  nouns  used  as  complements; 
as.  Can  I  become  an  orator!  Practice  makes  an  orator, 
What  orators  practice  has  made  some  men!  are  (4)  nouns 
used  as  adjective  modifiers,  (^)  possessive ;  as,  Last  came 
/(?y5  ecstatic  trial;  (h)  explanatory;  as,  Edw.  VI.,  Tudor, 
preceded  Mary;  are  (5)  words  used  independently;  as, 
O  Sir,  can  you  help  me  ? 

Direction. — Write  seiiitences  illustrating  all  the  points  made  above. 


22  Invention. 


but  use  no  words  in  other  relations  than  those  explained.  In  writing 
these  sentences  observe  and  illustrate  the  following  rules  for  capital 
letters  and  for  punctuation  . — 

*  Capital  Letters.— Begin  with  a  capital  letter  (1)  the 
first  word  of  a  sentence,  and  (2)  of  a  line  of  poetry ;  (3) 
proper  names  and  words  derived  from  them,  (4)  names  of 
things  personified,  and  (5)  most  abbreviations ;  and  write  in 
capital  letters  (6)  the  words  I  and  0,  and  (7)  numbers  in 
the  Roman  notation. 

The  Period. — Place  a  period  after  (1)  a  declarative  or  an 
imperative  sentence,  (2)  an  abbreviation,  and  (3)  a  number 
written  in  the  Roman  notation. 

The  Comma. — Set  off  by  the  comma  (1)  an  explanatory 
modifier  which  does  not  restrict  the  modified  term  or  com- 
bine closely  with  it ;  (2)  a  word  or  phrase  independent  or 
nearly  so. 

The  Apostrophe. — Use  the  apostrophe  (1)  to  distinguish 
the  possessive  from  other  cases. 

The  Interrogation  Point. — Every  direct  interrogative 
sentence  should  be  followed  by  an  interrogation  point. 

The  Exclamation  Point. — All  exclamatory  expressions 
must  be  followed  by  the  exclamation  point. 


*  The  rules  given  in  this  book  for  capital  letters  and  for  punctua- 
tion are  taken  from  Reed  &  Kellogg's  "  Higher  Lessons  in  English," 
where,  especially  under  Composition,,  they  are  given  and  fully  illus- 
trated. The  teacher  cannot  be  too  thorough  in  his  drill  upon  them. 
Punctuation  is  as  much  a  part  of  a  sentence  as  any  word  in  it.  The 
teacher  should  insist  that  no  sentence  is  really  written  until  it  is  prop- 
erly punctuated. 

Some  of  the  definitions  are  taken  from  the  same  work. 


Simple  Sentences,  23 


LESSON  3. 

SIMPLE   SENTENCES. 

A  noun  or  pronoun  with  its  preposition,  forming  a 
prepositional  phrase,  may  be  brought  into  the  sentence 
and  perform  the  office  of  (i)  an  adjective  modifier;  as, 
Vibrations  of  ether  cause  light ;  or  (2)  an  adverb  modifier  ; 
as,  At  Yorktown,  the  Revolution  ended.  Without  its  prep- 
osition the  noun  may  be  used  adverbially  and  become  (i) 
a  so-called  dative  object ;  as,  Hull  refused  Charles  /.  ad- 
mittance ;  and  (2)  a  noun  of  measure  or  direction;  as.  He 
returned  home. 

An  infinitive  phrase,  to  with  its  verb,  may  be  brought 
into  the  sentence,  and  become  (i)  a  subject;  as.  To  err  is 
human  ;  (2)  a  complement ;  as.  The  command  is  to  forgive^ 
The  Bible  teaches  us  to  forgive^  The  teacher  made  the 
pupil  (to)  forgive ;  (3)' an  adjective  modifier;  as.  The  way 
to  be  forgiven  is  revealed  ;  (4)  an  explanatory  modifier;  as. 
This  duty,  to  obey,  is  recognized  ;  (5)  an  adverb  modifier; 
as,  Strive  to  do  your  duty  ;  (6)  the  principal  term  of  an- 
other phrase;  as.  He  was  about  to  speak ;  and  (7)  it  may 
be  independent  ;  as.  To  tell  the  truth,  he  haunted  count- 
ing-rooms. 

A  participle  may  be  brought  into  the  sentence,  and 
become  (i)  an  adjective  modifier;  as,  hAv,  expanding,  rises  ; 
(2)  a  complement  ;  as,  The  gladiator  lay  bleeding,  Mirza 
saw  people  crossing  the  bridge  ;  (3)  the  principal  word  of 
a  prepositional  phrase ;  as.  By  losing  its  privacy,  benevo- 
lence loses  its  charm  ;  (4)  the  principal  word  in  a  phrase 
used  as  subject ;  as.  Casting  out  the  9's  will  prove  the  op- 
eration ;  (5)  the  principal  word  in  a  phrase  used  as  com- 
plement; as.  Pardon  my  forgetting  your  request  ;  and  (6) 


24  Invention. 


it   may   be   independent;    as,  Speaking  plainly,    Hamlet 
wasn't  mad. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  illustrating  all  the  points  made  above, 
but  use  no  words  in  other  relations  than  those  explained  in  this  and 
in  the  preceding  Lesson,  Let  no  word  have  more  than  a  single  modi- 
fier, and,  if  possible,  let  no  modifier  be  modified.  In  writing  observe 
these  rules  also  : — 

The  Comma. — Set  off  by  the  comma  (3)  a  phrase  which 
is  out  of  its  natural  order  or  is  not  closely  connected  with 
the  word  it  modifies;  and  (4)  a  participle  used  as  an  adjec- 
tive modifier,  with  the  words  belonging  to  it,  unless  re- 
strictive. 

The  Apostkophe. — Use  the  apostrophe  (2)  to  mark  the 
omission  of  letters,  and  (3)  in  the  pluralizing  of  letters, 
figures,  and  characters. 

The  Hyphen. — Use  the  hyphen  (1)  to  join  the  parts  of 
compound  words,  and  (2)  between  the  syllables  when  a 
word  is  divided. 


LESSON  4. 

SIMPLE   SENTENCES — COMPOUND   SUBJECT  AND 

PREDICATE,   AND    COMPOUND   AND 

COMPLEX   MODIFIERS. 

Compound  Modifiers. — More  than  a  single  noun,  each 
modified  by  one  or  more  adjectives,  may  be  used  in  a 
sentence,  in  the  several  offices  indicated  in  Lesson  2  ; 
and  any  verb  or  adjective  in  the  sentence  may  be  modi- 
fied by  more  than  one  adverb. 


Simple  Sentences.  25 

Direction. — Point  out  the  offices  of  the  parts  of  speech  in  these  sen- 
tences : — 

I.  The  greedy  grubs  and  insects  devour  tender  potato-vines, 
beans,  beets,  corn,  and  other  plants.  2.  The  Roman  amuse- 
ments were  the  stage,  the  circus,  and  the  arena.  3.  Despair 
not,  soldier,  statesman,  citizen.  4.  Macaulay,  essayist,  historian, 
and  statesman,  died  in  1859,  5.  Shakespeare's  and  everybody's 
ideal,  Portia,  was  amiable  and  noble,  and  loved  her  husband 
truly  and  passionately.  6.  The  times  made  Brutus  an  assassin 
and  a  traitor. 

Direction. — Write  simple  sentences  illustrating  all  the  points  just 
made.     In  writing  observe  these  rules  also  : — 

The  Comma. — Separate  by  the  comma  (5)  connected 
words  and  phrases,  unless  all  the  conjunctions  are  ex- 
pressed ;  and  (6)  the  parts  of  a  compound  predicate,  and 
other  phrases,  when  long  and  differently  modified. 

Several  nouns  with  their  prepositions,  forming  phrases, 
may  be  used  as  adjective  modifiers  of  the  same  word,  and, 
with  or  without  their  prepositions,  as  adverb  modifiers. 

Direction. — Describe  the  phrase  modifiers  in  these  sentences,  tell 
what  they  modify,  and  justify  the  punctuation  : — 

I.  The  tersest  simplicity  and  a  pregnant  brevity  of  question 
and  of  reply  were  characteristics  of  the  Spartans.  2.  From 
every  bush,  from  every  fence,  from  cannon  and  muskets,  a  piti- 
less storm  poured  upon  the  retreating  British.  3.  At  Cape  May, 
the  coast  wears  away  nine  feet  a  year. 

Direction. — Write  simple  sentences  illustrating  all  the  points  just 
made. 

Several  infinitive  phrases  or  participles  may  be  used 
in  the  various  offices  indicated  in  Lesson  3. 

Direction. — Point  out  the  infinitive  phrases  and  participles  in  these 
sentences,  tell  their  functions,  and  justify  the  punctuation  : — 

I,  To  spare  the  submissive  and  to  war  down  the  proud  was 


26  Invention, 


to  recognize  and  obey  the  teaching  of  Rome.  2.  After  his  ac- 
quittal, Warren  Hastings  amused  himself  with  embellishing  his 
grounds,  riding  fine  Arab  horsss,  and  trying  to  rear  Indian  ani- 
mals and  vegetables  in  England.  3.  A  longing  to  dictate,  to 
intermeddle,  and  to  make  others  feel  his  power  made  Frederic 
the  Great  unwilling  to  ask  counsel,  to  confide  important  secrets, 
or  to  delegate  ample  powers.  4.  The  world  saw  Marie  Antoi- 
nette decorating  and  cheering  her  elevated  sphere.  5.  The 
queen's  horses,  saddled  and  bridled,  and  about  to  start  and  fol- 
low the  chase,  stood  pawing  the  earth  and  champing  their  bits. 
6.  Obeying  the  precept,  to  watch  and  to  pray,  and  overlooking 
our  neighbors'  speaking  ill  of  us  and  doing  us  wrong  constitute 
the  severest  test  of  Christian  virtue.  7.  To  tell  the  truth  and 
not  to  exaggerate,  speaking  honestly  and  not  dissembling,  no 
man  has  ever  stood  this  test  perfectly.  8.  The  highest  proof  of 
virtue  is  to  possess  boundless  power  without  abusing  it. 

Direction. — Write  simple  sentences  illustrating  all  these  points. 
Keep  the  sentences,  if  possible,  perfectly  clear  of  complex  modifiers. 

Complex  Modifiers. — The  nouns  and  verbs  of  phrase 
modifiers  and  all  other  modifiers  may  themselves  be 
modified. 

Direction. — Point  out  and  describe  the  modifiers  in  these  sentences, 
particularly  all  those  which  modify  other  modifiers  or  partg  of  them, 
and  justify  the  punctuation  : — • 

I.  Cromwell  was  bitterly  opposed  to  all  jurisdiction  in  mat- 
ters of  religion.  2.  According  to  Marsh,  the  irregularity  of  the 
spelling  in  early  English  is  very  frequently  chargeable  almost 
wholly  to  the  thoughtless  printer's  desire  to  fill  out  the  line. 
3.  Could  is  said  by  Earle  to  have  acquired  its  /  by  associating 
with  those  little  words,  or  auxiliaries,  would  and  should.  4.  The 
Saxon  words  in  English  are  short,  in  great  part  monosyllabic, 
and  full  of  consonants.  5.  Yeast  is  added  to  dough  merely  to 
convert,  or,  putting  it  in  other  words,  to  change,  by  chemical 
action,  some  of  the  starch  into  sugar,  and  to  raise  and  lighten 


Complex  Sentences.  ij 

the  loaf  by  thus  dispersing  the  liberated  carbonic  acid  gas  equal- 
ly throughout  the  mass.  6.  A  well  constituted  tribunal  sitting 
regularly  six  days  in  the  week  and  nine  hours  a  day  would  have 
brought  Hastings'  trial,  lasting  eight  years,  to  a  close  in  three 
months.  .7  Addison's  friends  stood  greatly  amazed  to  see 
young  Alexander  Pope  persistently  maligning  their  chief,  and 
yet  giving  himself  out  as  a  candidate  for  his  favor. 

Direction. — In  these  sentences  you  see  that  nouns  as  subjects, 
as  complements,  as  possessive  and  explanatory  modifiers,  and  nouns 
in  adjective  or  adverb  modifiers  ;  that  adjectives  denoting  qualities 
assumed  or  asserted  ;  that  adverbs  ;  that  verbs  as  predicates  and  verbs 
in  infinitive  phrases  used  independently  or  as  adjective,  explanatory, 
or  adverb  modifiers  ;  and  that  participles  used  independently  or  as 
adjective  modifiers,  as  complements,  and  as  principal  v^rords  in  prepo- 
sitional phrases — that  these  are  all  modified.  You  see,  also,  by  what 
they  are  modified.  Write  simple  sentences  illustrating  all  these  points. 
In  writing  observe  this  rule  also  : — 

The  Comma. — Set  off  by  the  comma  (7)  a  term  con- 
nected to  another  by  or  and  having  the  same  meaning. 


LESSON  5. 

COMPLEX    SENTENCES    WITH    ADJECTIVE    CLAUSES. 

You  have  seen  that  even  simple  sentences  may  be 
long  and  difficult,  and  may  express  much.  But  the  sim- 
ple sentence  is  not  the  only  sentence  in  constant  use. 
We  may  put  two  or  more  simple  sentences  together,  each 
with  all  its  essential  parts  accompanied  by  their  modi- 
fiers, and  form  what  we  call  a  complex  or  a  compound 
sentence.  These  parts  of  complex  and  of  compound 
sentences,   containing  each,   of   course,  a  subject  and  a 


2^  Invention. 


predicate,  we  call  clauses.  Some  of  these  clauses  may 
perform  simply  the  functions  of  adjectives,  of  adverbs, 
or  of  nouns.  These  we  call  dependent  clauses.  Those 
not  so  degraded  in  office  we  call  independent  clauses. 
Hence 

A  clause  is  a  part  of  a  sentence  (complex  or  compound) 
containing  a  subject  and  a  predicate. 

A  dependent  clause  is  one  used  as  an  adjective,  an  ad- 
verb, or  a  noun. 

An  independent  clause  is  one  not  used  as  an  adjective,  an 
adverb,  or  a  noun. 

A  complex  sentence  is  one  composed  of  an  independent 
clause  and  one  or  more  dependent  clauses. 

A  compound  sentence  is  one  composed  of  two  or  more  in- 
dependent clauses 

We  begin  with  that  species  of  the  complex  sentence 
which  contains  a  dependent  clause  used  as  an  adjective, 
that  is,  an  adjective  clause.  The  adjective  clause  may 
modify  any  noun  in  the  independent  clause,  and  the 
word  which  connects  it  to  the  leading  clause  need  not 
necessarily  be  the  subject. 

Adjective  clauses  may  be  classified  as  restrictive  and 
unrestrictive.  Restrictive  clauses  limit  the  scope,  or  ap- 
plication, of  the  word  they  modify  ;  as,  Water  that  is 
stagnant  is  unhealthful.  Unrestrictive  clauses  do  not  so 
limit,  or  restrict,  the  application  of  the  word  they  modi- 
fy ;  as.  Water,  which  is  oxygen  and  hydrogen  united,  is  essen- 
tial to  life.  , 

Direction. — Point  out  and  classify  the  adjective  clauses  in  these 
sentences,  tell  what  they  modify,  and  name  the  additional  office,  if 
any,  which  each  connective  performs  : — 

I.  Those  who  drink  beer  think  beer.  2.  Rome  was  great  only 
in  what  we  call  physical  strength.     3.  Marlborough  is  perhaps 


Complex  Sentences.  29 

the  only  instance  of  a  man  of  real  greatness  who  loved  money 
for  money's  sake.  4.  The  one  great  corruption  to  which  all  re- 
ligion is  exposed  is  its  separation  from  morality.  5.  The  bran 
of  wheat,  which  is  the  covering  of  the  kernel,  is  made  up  of 
several  layers,  and  is  broken  into  scales  in  grinding.  6.  The 
mightiest  master  of  words  the  world  ever  knew  was  the  great 
Athenian,  D th s. 

Often  the  connecting  vi^ord  is  omitted,  and  so,  some- 
times, is  the  antecedent.  When  and  where,  equalling  in 
which  ;  why,  equalling  for  which  j  and  whereby,  equalling 
by  which,  may  introduce  adjective  clauses.  //  and  there 
are  often  used  idiomatically  to  throw  the  real  subject 
after  the  verb. 

7.  There  are  times  when  every  active  mind  feels  itself  above 
any  and  all  human  books.  8.  It  is  faith  in  something  and  en- 
thusiasm for  something  that  make  life  worth  looking  at.  9. 
A  verb  is  a  word  whereby  the  chief  action  of  the  mind  is  ex- 
pressed. 10.  The  custom  of  saying  grace  at  meals  may  have 
had  its   origin  in   places  where  dinners  were  precarious  things. 

II.   Even   P r  H x y  would  be  troubled  to  give  the 

reason  why  mosquitoes  and  midges  exist.  12.  Whoever  or 
whatever  violates  a  law  of  nature  is  punished.  13.  It  was  life 
that  he  asked  for.  14.  The  divisions  which  Lamb  makes  of  the 
human  race  are  two — the  borrowers  and  the  lenders.  15.  Thrice 
is  he  armed  that  hath  his  quarrel  just. 

Direction. — Write  complex  sentences  containing  adjective  clauses 
introduced  by  the  several  connectives  used  above,  and  illustrating  all 
the  points  there  made.     In  writing  observe  these  rules  also  : — 

The  Comma.— Set  off  by  the  comma  (8)  the  adjective 
clause  when  not  restrictive. 

The  Dash. — Use  the  dash  where  there  is  an  omission  (1) 
of  such  words  as  as,  namely,  viz.,  i.  e.,  or  that  is,  intro- 
ducing illustrations  or  equivalent  expressions,  and  (2)  wb^r^ 
tJiere  is  an  omission  of  letters  or  figures, 


30  Invention. 


LESSON  6. 

COMPLEX    SENTENCES    WITH    ADVERB    CLAUSES. 

Dependent  clauses  may  discharge  the  office  of  adverbs. 
Such  clauses,  called  adverb  clauses,  may  express  (i)  the 
time,  (2)  the  place,  (3)  the  degree,  (4)  the  manner,  and  (5) 
the  real  cause  of  the  action  or  being  denoted  by  verbs,  or 
they  may  modify  adjectives  or  adverbs. 

Direction. — Classify  the  adverb  clauses  in  these  sentences,  tell 
what  they  modify,  and  give  the  connectives  with  their  full  functions  : — 

I.  The  colorless  substance  known  in  ancient  times  as  bird- 
lime is  the  gluten  remaining  after  the  starch  in  flour  has  been 
washed  away,  2.  The  convalescent  changes  sides  oftener  than 
a  politician. 

After  than  and  as^  words  are  sometimes  omitted. 

3.  The  waves  of  sound  do  not  move  so  rapidly  as  the  waves 
of  light.  4.  The  ancient  Roman  went  to  bed  early,  simply  be- 
cause his  worthy  mother  Earth  could  not  afford  him  candles. 
5.  I  lisped  in  numbers,  for  the  numbers  came.  6.  Where  there 
is  a  well-ballasted  paragraph,  solid  in  matter  and  earnest  in 
manner,  the  adverbs  may  be  crowded  with  glad  effect.  7.  As 
the  twig  is  bent,  the  tree  is  inclined.  8.  While  Raleigh  was 
launching  paper  navies,  Shakespeare  was  stretching  his  baby 
hands  for  the  moon.  9.  Milk  is  one  of  the  most  important 
foods,  since  it  contains  all  the  elements  of  nutrition  in  the  most 
digestible  form.  10.  The  more  we  know  of  ancient  literature, 
the  more  we  are  struck  with  its  modernness.  11.  Milton  almost 
requires  a  service  to  be  played  before  you  enter  upon  him.  12. 
As  we  grow  older,  we  think  more  and  more  of  old  persons  and 
of  old  places  and  things.     13.  Sometimes  there  is  cinder  in  the 


Complex  Sentences.  31 

iron,  because  there  is  cinder  in  the  pay.  14.  Since  we  declared 
our  independence  in  17 — ,  how  this  country  has  developed  !  15. 
As  the  juices  of  meat,  determining  its  flavor,  are  not  the  same 
throughout  an  animal,  all  parts  of  the  flesh  do  not  taste  alike.  16. 
As  one  tree  keeps  down  another  in  the  forest,  so  one  speculator  an- 
tagonizes other  speculators.  17.  When  love  begins  to  sicken  and 
decay,  it  useth  an  enforced  ceremony.  18.  The  ether  in  space  is 
so  thin  that  some  scientists  doubt  its  having  any  resisting  power. 
19.  In  Goethe's  character  of  poet,  he  set  as  little  store  by 
useless  learning  as  Shakespeare  did.  20.  Carbonic  acid  gas 
sinks  to  the  bottom  of  caves  and  abandoned  wells,  as  it  is 
heavier  than  air.  21.  Whenever  the  subjected  nation  even  ap- 
proximates to  an  equality  in  material  or  mental  force,  the  native 
dialect  is  adopted  b)^  the  conqueror.  22.  Tea  increases  the 
waste  in  the  body,  since  it  promotes  the  transformation  of  food 
without  supplying  nutriment,  and  increases  the  loss  of  heat 
without  supplying  fuel.  23.  Knowledge  and  timber  shouldn't 
be  much  used  till  they  are  seasoned. 

Direction. — Write  complex  sentences  containing  adverb  clauses  of 
time,  place,  degree,  manner,  and  real  cause,  introduced  by  the  several 
connectives  used  above.     In  writing  observe  this  rule  also  : — 

The  Comma. — Set  off  by  the  comma  (9)  the  adverb  clause, 
unless  it  closely  follows  and  restricts  the  word  it  modifies. 


LESSON  7. 

COMPLEX   SENTENCES   WITH   ADVERB   CLAUSES. 

Adverb   clauses  may  express   (6)  reason,  the  cause  of 
our  knowing  and  asserting  something  to  be,  (7)  condition, 


32  Invention, 


(8)  purpose,  and  (9)   concession,  that  in  spite  of   which 
something  exists. 

Direction. — Classify  the  adverb  clauses  in  these  sentences,  tell 
what  they  modify,  and  note  the  connectives  which  introduce  the 
clauses  different  in  kind  ; — 

I.  Foul  deeds  will  rise,  though  all  the  earth  o'erwhelm  them, 
to  men's  eyes.  2."  We  have  had  along  and  severe  drought,  for  the 
streams  are  low.  3.  Coffee,  roasted,  is  ground  so  that  the  aro- 
matic volatile  oil  in  it  may  be  developed.  4.  If  bad  men  com- 
bine, the  good  must  associate.  5.  Moralists  should  cultivate  in 
men  the  proper  love  of  wealth  and  of  power,  lest  civilization 
should  be  undone.  6.  Were  one  to  open  his  ear  and  his  purse  to 
all  the  schemes  proposed  to  him,  he  would  soon  find  himself 
in  the  poor-house. 

7/ is  sometimes  omitted. 

7.  Cheese,  although  it  is  itself  difficult  of  digestion,  promotes 
the  digestion  of  other  foods.  8.  Since  there  are  fossils  in  the 
rocks  ante-dating  man,  the  first  of  terrestrial  animals  in  dig- 
nity could  not  have  been  the  first  in  time.  9.  Charles  I.  cringed 
to  Louis  XIV.  that  he  might  trample  on  his  own  people.  10. 
However  imperfect  the  jury-system  may  be,  we  cannot  afford 
to  abandon  it.  11.  Richelieu  died  in  the  natural  course  of  na- 
ture, notwithstanding  he  was  all  his  life  long  beset  by  assassins. 
12.  Except  your  younger  brother  come  down  with  you,  ye  shall 
see  my  face  no  more.  13.  Unless  the  young  of  the  oyster  perish- 
ed by  the  million,  the  shallow  seas  would  swarm  with  these 
mollusks.  14.  Love  not  sleep,  lest  thou  come  to  poverty.  15. 
Provided  a  boy  has  an  eye  for  every  side  and  angle  of  contin- 
gency, he  may  succeed  in  law.  16.  In  case  the  winds  were  al- 
ways southwest  by  west,  women  might  take  ships  to  sea.  17. 
Shun  debt  in  order  that  you  may  never  be  the  slave  of  creditors. 
18.  On  condition  that  twelve  citizens  of  Calais  would  give  them- 
selves into  his  hands,  Ed.  III.  promised  to  show  mercy  to  the 
town.     19.  The  season  must  have  been  a  rainy  one,  because 


Complex  Sentences,  33 

vegetation  is  rank.     20.  O  thou  invisible  spirit  of  wine,  if  thou 
hast  no  name  to  be  known  by,  let  us  call  thee  devil. 

Direction. — Write  complex  sentences  containing  adverb  clauses  of 
reason,  condition,  purpose,  and  concession,  introduced  by  the  several 
connectives  used  above. 

Direction.— Justify  the  punctuation  used  in  the  sentences  of  Lessons 
5,  6,  and  7. 

It  is  worth  noting  that  of  the  nine  classes  of  adverb 
clauses,  explained  and  illustrated,  the  last  five  really 
come  under  the  head  of  cause,  although  only  the  first  of 
them  assigns  the  cause  proper.  The  reason  clause  as- 
signs the  cause  of  our  knowing  and  asserting  something 
to  be,  though  not  the  cause  which  makes  it  to  be  ;  the 
condition  clause  assigns  what,  if  it  occurs,  will  be  the 
cause  of  something;  Xh^ purpose  clause  assigns  the  mo- 
tive which  is  working  in  some  mind,  or  might  work  in 
some  mind,  to  cause  something  ;  and  the  concession  clause 
assigns  a  cause  for  something  else  than  that  expressed 
in  the  leading  proposition — a  cause  in  spite  of  which 
what  is  said  in  the  leading  proposition  takes  place. 


LESSON  8. 

COMPLEX   SENTENCES  WITH   NOUN   CLAUSES. 

Dependent  clauses  may  perform  the  office  of  nouns. 
Such  clauses,  called  noun  clauses,  may  be  used  (i)  as  sub- 
jects of  verbs,  (2)  as  object  complements, — objects — of 
them,  (3)  as  attribute  complements, — predicate  clauses, 
(4)  as  explanatory  modifiers — in  apposition, — and  (5)  with 


34  Invention, 


or  without  the  preposition  expressed^  as  principal  terms 
of  prepositional  phrases. 

These  clauses  may  be  questions,  direct  or  indirect ; 
and  they  may  be  quoted  directly  or  indirectly. 

A  direct  question  introduced  into  a  sentence  is  one  in 
which  the  exact  words  and  their  order  in  an  interroga- 
tive sentence  are  preserved,  and  which  is  followed  by  an 
interrogation  point  ;  and  an  indirect  question  is  one  re- 
ferred to  as  a  question,  but  not  asked  or  quoted  as  such, 
and  which  is  not  followed  by  an  interrogation  point. 

A  direct  quotation  is  one  whose  exact  words,  as  well  as 
thought,  are  copied,  and  an  indirect  quotation  is  one 
whose  thought  is  copied,  but  whose  exact  words  are  not. 

Direction. — Classify  the  noun  clauses  in  these  sentences,  and  point 
out  the  direct  and  the  indirect  questions  and  quotations  : — 

I.  Much  turns  upon  when  and  where  you  read  a  book.  2. 
Lowell  has  long  been  certain  that  the  great  vice  of  American 
writing  and  speaking  is  a  studied  want  of  simplicity.  3.  Nathan 
Hale's  only  regret  was,  that  he  had  but  one  life  to  give  to  his 
country.  4.  Logicians  say  that  the  operations  of  the  mind  are 
three;  namely,  i.  Simp!e  apprehension;  2.  Judgment;  3.  Dis- 
course, or  reasoning.  5.  Byron,  seeing  Moore  eating  an  under- 
done beefsteak,  asked  if  he  were  not  afraid  of  committing  murder 
after  such  a  meal.  6.  That  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  hardly  infe- 
rior to  Elizabeth  in  intellectual  power,  stood  high  above  her  in 
fire  and  grace  and  brilliancy  of  temper,  admits  of  no  doubt.  7. 
Charles  Lamb,  reading  the  epitaphs  in  the  church-yard,  inquir- 
ed, "  Where  be  all  the  bad  people  buried  .^"  8.  **  I  would  surrender 
all  my  genius  and  learning  in  exchange  for  beauty"  is  a  remark 
credited  to  Madame  de  Stael.  9.  In  studying  grammar  through 
the  English  language,  v/e  must  purge  our  minds  of  the  wooden 
notion  that  it  is  an  inherent  quality  of  a  word  to  be  this  or  that 
part  of  speech.     10.  The  whole  force  of  conversation  depends  on 


Complex  Sentences,  35 

how  much  you  can  take  for  granted.     11.  Your  ancestors'  doing 
nothing  is  not  considered  proof  that  you  can  do  anything. 

Direction. — Write  as  many  complex  sentences  containing  noun 
clauses  of  all  kinds,  and  illustrate  all  the  points  made  above.  In 
writing  observe  these  rules  also  : — 

The  Comma.— Set  off  by  the  comma  (10)  a  noun  clause 
used  as  an  attribute  complement;  and  (11)  a  direct  quota- 
tion making  complete  sense  and  introduced  into  a  sentence, 
unless  it  is  formally  introduced  or  is  a  noun  clause  used  as 
subject;  and  use  the  comma  (12)  after  as,  viz.,  to  wit, 
NAMELY,  and  THAT  IS,  whcu  tlicy  introduce  examples  or 
illustrations. 

Capital  Letters. — Begin  with  a  capital  letter  (8)  the 
first  word  of  a  direct  quotation  making  complete  sense 
and  of  a  direct  question  introduced  into  a  sentence,  and  (9) 
phrases  or  clauses  separately  numbered  or  paragraphed. 

Quotation  Marks. — Quotation  marks  enclose  a  copied 
word  or  passage.  If  the  quotation  contains  a  quotation, 
this  is  enclosed  within  single  marks. 

The  Semicolon. — Use  the  semicolon  (1)  before  as,  viz., 
TO  wit,  namely,  and  that  is,  when  they  introduce 
examples  or  illustrations. 


LESSON  9. 

COMPLEX   SENTENCES   WITH   ALL   KINDS   OF  DE- 
PENDENT  CLAUSES. 

Direction. — Point  out  and  classify  the  adjective,  the  adverb,  and 
the  noun  clauses  in  these  sentences,  and  justify  the  punctuation  : — 

I.  If  we  track  Queen  Elizabeth  through  her  tortuous  mazes 
of  lying  and  intrigue,  the  sense  of  her  greatness  is  almost  lost 


35  hivention. 


in  a  sense  of  contempt.  2.  William,  Earl  of  Nassau,  won  a  sub- 
ject from  Spain  whenever  he  put  off  his  hat.  3.  The  nearer 
you  come  into  relation  with  a  person,  the  more  necessary  do 
tact  and  courtesy  become.  4.  The  natural  tendency  to  run  ad- 
jectives together  in  triads  is  an  instinctive  effort  of  the  mmd  to 
present  a  thought  with  the  three  dimensions  that  belong  to 
every  solid.  5.  "  Truth  gets  well  if  [=  even  if  —  though  J  she  is 
run  over  by  a  locomotive.'*  6.  "  Thanatopsis"  first  appeared  in 
print  in  the  North  American  Review,  which  for  so  many  years 
was  our  leading  Quarterly.  7.  As  both  means  two  taken  to- 
gether, so  either  means  two  considered  separately.  8.  Yet  I  am 
strong  and  lusty,  for  in  my  youth  I  never  did  apply  hot  and  re- 
bellious liquors  in  my  blood.  9.  Know  ye  not  that  a  little 
leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump  }  10.  The  unpoetical  side  of 
protestantism  is,  that  it  has  no  women  to  be  worshipped.  11. 
Where  there  is  no  tale-bearer,  the  strife  ceaseth.  12.  We  disbe- 
lieve that  we  may  the  better  believe  and  believe  the  better.  13. 
**  God  gave  two-thirds  of  all  the  beauty  to  Eve"  is  a  saying  of 
the  Mohammedans.  14.  It  will  be  fair  to-day,  for  last  evening's 
red  sky  is  followed  by  this  morning's  gray.  15.  Daily  do  we 
verify  this  saying :  "  Man's  extremity  is  God's  opportunity."  16. 
The  principle  involved  in,  "  Resistance  to  tyrants  is  obedience 
to  God,"  was  the  seminal  principle  of  the  American  Revolution. 

Direction.— Write  complex  sentences  illustrating  the  several  uses 
of  dependent  clauses.  Let  one  or  two  illustrate  the  noun  clause 
which  takes  the  place  of  the  principal  word  of  a  prepositional  phrase, 
but  which  is  without  a  preposition.  In  writing  observe  these  rules 
also  : — 

The  Colon. — Use  the  colon  (1)  before  a  quotation  or  an 
enumeration  of  particulars  when  formally  introduced. 

Brackets. — Use  brackets  to  enclose  what,  in  quoting  an^ 
other's  words,  you  insert  by  way  of  explanation  or  correction. 


Compoicnd  Sentences.  2)7 


LESSON  10. 

COMPOUND   SENTENCES. 

The  independent  clauses  joined  to  form  compound 
sentences  may  be  (i)  in  the  same  line  of  thought,  the  sec- 
ond adding  to  the  first,  the  third  adding  to  the  first  and 
second,  and  so  on  ;  they  may  be  (2)  adversative  to  each 
other,  presenting  thoughts  in  contrast  or  in  alternation  ; 
or  they  may  express  thoughts  one  of  which  shall  be  (3) 
a  consequence  of  the  other,  or  (4)  an  inference  from  it. 
They  are  usually  connected  by  conjunctions,  but  they 
may  stand  joined  by  their  very  position  in  the  sentence 
— connected  without  any  conjunction  expressed. 

Direction. — Classify  these  sentences  according  to  the  relations  of 
their  clauses  to  each  other,  and  note  the  conjunctions,  when  used, 
which  unite  the  clauses  in  these  relations  : — 

I.  All  the  arrangements  of  our  telescopes  and  microscopes  are 
anticipated  in  the  eye,  and  our  best  musical  instruments  are  sur- 
passed by  the  larynx.  2.  Charms  strike  the  sight,  but  merit 
wins  the  soul.  3.  The  consonant  B  was  once  a  picture  of  a 
house,  and  D  is  an  old  picture  of  a  door.  4.  The  one  prudence 
in  life  is  concentration;  the  one  evil  is  dissipation.  5.  Nitro- 
glycerine has  great  rending  power,  but  it  has  no  value  whatever 
as  a  projectile.  6.  Fat  is  heat-generating  alone,  whilst  flesh  is 
both  flesh-forming  and  heat-generating.  7.  Spring  is  a  fickle 
mistress,  Summer  is  more  staid.  Autumn  is  the  poet  of  the 
family,  but  Winter  is  a  thoroughly  honest  fellow  with  no  nonsense 
in  him.  8.  In  the  wilds  of  Maine,  the  aboriginal  trees  have 
never  been  dispossessed,  nor  has  nature  been  disforested.  9. 
Oh !  come  ye  in  peace  here,  or  come  ye  in  war  ?     10.  Wisdom 


38  Inve7ition, 


is  the  principal  thing,  therefore  get  wisdom.  11.  The  camel 
has  been  termed  the  ship  of  the  desert,  the  caravan  may  be 
termed  its  fleet.  12.  Tic-tac !  tic-tac !  go  the  wheels  of 
thought ;  our  will  cannot  stop  them  ;  they  cannot  stop  them- 
selves ,  sleep  cannot  still  them ;  madness  only  makes  them  go 
faster ;  death  alone  can  break  into  the  case,  and  silence  at  last 
the  clicking  of  the  terrible  escapement  carried  so  long  beneath  our 
wrinkled  foreheads.  13.  Young  trees  must  be  planted  in  our  older 
states,  or  the  water  in  many  of  our  streams  will  fail.  14.  Water 
expands  in  freezing ;  often  in  the  winter  season  pitchers  filled 
with  it  burst.  15.  Our  memories  are  most  retentive  in  youth, 
consequently  geography,  history,  and  the  modern  languages 
should  be  studied  then.  16.  These  Moors  are  changeable  in 
their  wills — put  money  in  thy  purse. 

Direction. — Write  as  many  compound  sentences  whose  clauses 
shall  stand  in  the  relations  explained  above,  and  illustrate  the  points 
there  made.     In  writing  observe  these  rules  also  ; — 

The  Comma. — (13)  Co-ordinate  clauses  independent  or  de- 
pendent, when  short  and  closely  connected,  must  be  separated 
by  the  comma. 

The  Semicolon. — Co-ordinate  clauses,  independent  or 
dependent,  (1)  when  slightly  connected  or  (2)  when  them- 
selves divided  by  the  comma  must  be  separated  by  the 
semicolon. 

The  Dash. — Use  the  dash  (3)  where  the  sentence  breaks 
off  abruptly,  and  the  same  thought  is  resumed  after  a  slight 
suspension,  or  another  takes  its  place. 


Simple,  Complex,  and  Co7npou7id  Sentiences,  39 


LESSON  11. 

SIMPLE,    COMPLEX,   AND   COMPOUND   SENTENCES. 

Direction. — Classify  these  sentences,  name  the  independent  and  the 
dependent  clauses,  give  the  function  and  relation  of  each,  and  justify 
the  punctuation  throughout : — 

I.  A  great  deal  which  in  colder  regions  is  ascribed  to  mean 
dispositions  belongs  to  mean  temperature.  2.  Caesar  thought 
Cassius  dangerous  to  the  state,  because  he  had  a  lean  and  hun- 
gry look,  and  was  without  taste  for  music.  3.  Most  people  in 
this  country  must  work  with  head  or  hands,  or  they  must  starve. 
4.  And  wretches  hang  that  jurymen  may  dine.  5-  The  moun- 
tains in  Brazil  are  too  high  to  scale,  the  rivers  are  too  wide  to 
bridge.  6.  The  starting  eyeball  and  the  open  mouth  tell  more 
terror  than  the  most  abject  words.  7-  Nature  is  in  earnest  when 
she  makes  a  woman.  8.  New  rice  must  be  inferior  to  old,  inas- 
much as  it  is  less  digestible.  9.  It  is  remarkable  that  scarcely  a 
'  house  built  before  i860  has  any  special  means  for  ventilation. 
10.  By  a  usage,  which  was  peculiar  to  England,  each  subtenant 
in  addition  to  his  oath  of  fealty  to  his  lord  swore  fealty  directly 
to  the  crown.  11.  To  be  bold  against  an  enemy  is  common  to  the 
brutes,  but  the  prerogative  of  a  man  is  to  be  bold  against  himself. 
12.  Very  few  people  now  urge  that  it  is  unjust  to  tax  one  for  the 
education  of  other  people's  children.  13.  Controversy  equalizes 
fools  and  wise  men,  and  the  fools  know  it.  14.  As  the  door 
turneth  upon  his  hinges,  so  doth  the  slothful  upon  his  bed.  15. 
Horse-racing  is  not  a  republican  institution ;  horse-trotting  is. 
16.  Where  there  is  no  vision,  the  people  perish.  17.  The  in- 
ternal secretions  are  diminished  by  the  use  of  alcoholic  drinks; 
hence  the  larynx,  mouth  and  throat  become  dry,  the  tendency 
to  congestion  of  the  circulation-centres  also  increasing.  18. 
Though  Milton  defended  the  execution  of  Charles  I.,  he  died  an 


40  Invention. 


ordinary  death.  19.  That  force  is  indestructible  and  eternal 
was  first  recognized  in  India.  20.  The  belief  of  some  is,  that 
hospitality  is  largely  a  matter  of  latitude.  21.  Wallace's  dis- 
covery of  the  military  value  of  the  stout  peasant  footman  gave 
a  death  blow  to  the  system  of  feudalism,  and  changed  m  the  end 
the  face  of  Europe.  22.  Many  people  are  still  confident  that 
the  national  history  and  the  national  language  are  studied  only 
in  their  decay.  23.  With  us  law  is  nothing,  unless  close  behind 
it  stands  a  warm,  living  public  opinion. 

Direction. — Write  simple,  complex,  and  compound  sentences.  Illus- 
trate all  kinds  of  dependent  clauses  in  your  complex  sentences,  and 
all  kinds  of  independent  clauses  in  your  compound  sentences.  Let 
some  of  your  compound  sentences  be  without  connectives.  Attend  to 
the  punctuation. 


LESSON  12. 

SENTENCES   WITH   COMPLEX   AND   COMPOUND 

CLAUSES. 

You  have  seen  that  single  words  may  be  united  to 
form,  for  example,  a  compound  subject  or  complement ; 
and  that  the  same  word  may  have  many  modifiers  form- 
ing what,  taken  as  a  whole,  we  have  called  a  compound 
modifier. 

You  have  seen,  too,  that  one  modifier  may  be  modified 
by  another,  the  whole  forming  a  complex  word  or  phrase 
modifier. 

You  are  now  to  see  that  sentences  may  contain  clauses 
which  are  themselves  complex  or  compound.  In  them 
we  reach  the  highest  stage  of  intricacy  of  which  the 
sentence  is  susceptible. 

Direction.— Point  out  the  independent  and  the  dependent  clauses  in 


Complex  and   Compound  Clauses.         41 


these  sentences,  tell  what  clauses  are  of  the  same  order,  are  co- 
ordinate, and  what  modify  clauses  which  are  themselves  dependent, 
give  the  function  of  each,  and  justify  the  punctuation  : — 

I.  When  I  said  I  would  die  a  bachelor,  I  did  not  think  I  should 
live  till  I  were  married.  2.  As  long  as  the  Lord  can  tolerate  me, 
I  think  I  can  stand  my  fellow-creatures.  3.  The  honorable  mem- 
ber may  perhaps  find  that,  in  that  contest,  there  will  be  blows  to 
take  as  well  as  blows  to  give ;  that  others  can  state  comparisons 
as  significant,  at  least,  as  his  own;  and  that  his  impunity  may 
possibly  demand  of  him  whatever  powers  of  taunt  and  sarcasm 
he  may  possess.  4.  We  pick  the  sun's  rays  to  pieces,  as  [we 
would  pick  themj  if  they  were  so  many  skeins  of  colored  yarn. 
5.  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and,  when  he  is  old, 
he  will  not  depart  from  it.  6.  Only  remember  this :  that,  if  a 
bushel  of  potatoes  is  shaken  in  a  market  cart  without  springs  to 
it,  the  small  ones  always  get  to  the  bottom.  7.  When  one  has 
had  all  his  conceit  taken  out  of  him,  his  feathers  will  soon  soak 
through,  and  he  will  fly  no  more.  8.  If  man  could  have  invented 
language,  we  may  safely  conclude  that  he  did  invent  it,  for  God 
does  nothing  for  us  which  we  can  do  ourselves.  9.  Marshal 
Lannes  once  said  to  a  French  officer,  "  Know,  Colonel,  that  none 
but  a  poltroon  will  boast  that  he  never  was  afraid."  10.  The  view 
of  Loriginus,  one  of  the  ablest  critics  of  antiquity,  was  the  right 
one,  that,  if  the  Iliad  was  the  work  of  Homer's  fiery  youth  and 
early  manhood,  the  Odyssey  belongs  to  his  serener  age — that,  if 
the  one  is  the  glory  of  the  mid-day,  the  other  is  the  glory  of  the 
setting  sun.  11.  The  ordinary  talk  of  unlettered  men  among  us 
is  fuller  of  metaphor,  and  of  phrases  that  suggest  lively  images, 
than  that  of  any  other  people  I  have  seen.  12.  As  we  perceive 
the  shadow  to  have  moved  along  the  dial,  but  did  not  see  it 
moving ;  and  as  it  appears  that  the  grass  has  grown,  though  no- 
body ever  saw  it  grow :  so  the  advances  we  make  in  knowledge, 
as  they  consist  of  such  minute  steps,  are  perceivable  only  by  the 
distance. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  containing  compound  and  complex 
clauses  and  illustrate  the  points  exhibited  abQve,  In  writing  observe 
these  rules  also ;— 


42  Invention. 


The  Dash. — Use  the  dash  (4)  before  a  word  or  phrase 
repeated  for  emphasis. 

The  Colon. — Use  the  colon  (2)  between  the  great  parts  of 
a  sentence  when  either  of  the  parts  is  divided  by  the  semi- 
colon. 


LESSON  13. 

SENTENCES  WITH   COMPLEX  AND   COMPOUND 
CLAUSES. 

Direction. — Treat  the  sentences  in  this  Lesson  as  directed  with  those 
in  Lesson  12  : — 

I.  **  If  I  were  rich,  I  think  I  would  have  my  garden  covered 
with  an  awning  so  that  it  would  be  comfortable  to  work  in," 
says  Warner,  the  humorist.  2.  Speak  the  speech,  I  pray  you, 
as  I  pronounced  it  to  you,  trippingly  on  the  tongue  ;  but  if  you 
mouth  it,  as  many  of  your  pla)^ers  do,  I  had  as  lief  the  town- 
crier  spoke  my  lines.  3.  There  is  no  elasticity  in  a  mathemati- 
cal fact,  everything  must  go  to  pieces  that  comes  into  collision 
with  it.  4.  Emerson  tells  us,  "  I  knew  a  wise  woman  who  said 
to  her  friends,  *  When  I  am  old,  rule  me.*  "  5.  "  I  am  never  beat- 
en until  I  know  I  am  beaten"  was  a  remark  of  Benedict's.  6.  In 
the  matter  of  love  one  can  be  sure  only  of  this  cardinal  principle : 
that,  when  you  are  quite  sure  two  people  cannot  be  in  love  with 
each  other,  because  there  is  no  earthly  reason  why  they  should 
be,  then  you  may  be  very  confident  that  you  are  wrong  and  that 
they  are  in  love,  for  the  secret  of  love  is  past  finding  out.  7. 
The  point  of  honor  which  requires  a  man  to  be  afraid  of  seem- 
ing to  be'  afraid  of  what  he  is  afraid  of  formed  no  part  of  the 
Homeric  idea  of  heroism.  8.  Sheridan,  when  he  concluded  his 
great  speech  in  the  impeachment  of  Hastings,  contrived,  with 
a  knowledge  of  stage  effect  which  his  father  might  have  en- 
vied, to  sink  back,  as  if  exhausted,  into  the  arrns  of  Burke,  who 


Substitution  and  Contraction,  43 


hugged  him  with  the  energy  of  generous  enthusiasm.  9.  But 
we  cannot  have  everything,  as  the  man  said  when  he  was  down 
with  the  small-pox  and  the  cholera,  and  the  yellow-fever  came 
into  the  neighborhood.  10.  They  sent  Tallien  to  seek  out  a 
boy  lieutenant,  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  the  shadow  of  an  officer, 
so  thin  and  pallid  that,  when  he  was  placed  on  the  stand  before 
them,  the  President  of  the  Assembly,  fearful,  if  the  fate  of  France 
rested  on  the  shrunken  form,  the  ashy  cheek  before  him,  that 
all  hope  was  gone,  asked,  "  Young  man,  can  you  protect  the  As- 
sembly?" II.  The  dogma  is  borrowed  from  a  character  in  a 
play  which  is,  I  dare  say,  as  great  a  favorite  with  my  learned 
friend  as  it  is  with  me, — I  mean  the  comedy  of  "  The  Rivals  " — • 
in  which  Mrs.  Malaprop,  giving  a  lecture  on  the  subject  of  mar- 
riage to  her  niece,  (who  is  unreasonable  enough  to  talk  of  liking, 
as  a  necessary  preliminary  to  such  a  union,)  says,  "  What  have 
you  to  do  with  your  likings  and  your  preferences,  child  T' 

Direction. — Write  as  directed  in  the  preceding  Lesson.  In  writing 
observe  these  rules  also  : — 

Marks  of  Parenthesis. — Marks  of  parenthesis  may  be 
used  to  enclose  what  has  no  essential  connection  with  the 
rest  of  the  sentence. 

The  Dash. — The  dash  may  be  used  (5)  instead  of  marks 
of  parenthesis,  and  (6)  may  follow  other  marks,  adding 
to  their  force. 


LESSON  14. 

SUBSTITUTION  AND   CONTRACTION. 

One  part  of  speech  or  modifier  may  be  exchanged  for 
another,  and  by  omission  and  contraction  we  may 
abridge  and  even  get  rid  of  clauses,  dependent  or  in- 
dependent.    We  shall  make  use  of  these  f^cts  when  we 


44  Invention. 


come  to  speak  of  certain  qualities  of  style,  but  for  obvious 
reasons  we  shall  take  up  the  matter  here. 

Direction. — Where  you  can,  change  the  prepositional  phrases  in 
these  sentences  to  adjectives,  to  adverbs,  or  to  nouns  in  the  possessive 
case: — 

I.  A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever.  2.  German  is  homoge- 
neous to  a  remarkable  degree.  3.  At  Naseby,  the  rout  of  the 
forces  of  the  King  was  complete.  4.  From  the  time  of  Edw.  the 
First  to  that  of  Cromwell,  no  Jew  touched  the  soil  of  England. 
5.  The  dungeon  was,  in  its  origin,  the  principal  tower  in  the 
castle  of  the  lord.  6.  The  best  features  of  the  translation  of 
King  James,  in  161 1,  are  derived  from  the  version  of  Tyndale. 

7.  Vulgarisms  are,  in  many  cases,  only  poetry  in  the  ^^g. 

Direction. — Where  you  can,  change  these  adjectives,  adverbs,  and 
nouns  in  the  possessive  case  to  prepositional  phrases  : — 

I.  Charles  the  Second's  last  act  v/as  to  seek  formal  admission 
into  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  2.  The  interjection  may  be 
said  to  be  passion's  mother-tongue.  3.  The  conclusions  of  sci- 
ence are  seldom  more  than  highly  probable.  4.  The  study  of 
the  Greek  and  Latin  languages  might  advantageously  be  partly 
replaced  by  that  of  Anglo-Saxon.  5.  The  serpent's  trail  is  over 
them  all.  6.  There  were  700,000  vols,  in  the  two  Alexandrian 
libraries.  7.  British  and  American  commerce  has  scattered  the 
productions  of  Anglo-Saxon  genius  over  the  habitable   globe. 

8.  In  Elizabeth's  reign,  domestic  architecture  was  in  its  mfan- 
cy.  9.  The  water-lily  is  the  type  of  the  poet's  soul.  10.  This 
strange  word,  demijohn,  has  sadly  puzzled  etymologists. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  illustrating  fully  both  these  series  of 
changes. 

Participles  may  be  substituted  for  infinitive  phrases, 
and  infinitive  phrases  for  participles. 

Direction. — Where  you  can,  change  the  participles  in  these  sentences 
to  infinitive  phrases^  and  the  infinitive  phrases  to  participles  ;— 


Substitution  and  Contraction.  45 

I.  To  speak  properly,  vulgarity  is  in  the  thought  and  not  in 
the  word.  2.  One  of  the  great  needs  of  language  is  the  purging 
it  of  its  prurient  and  pretentious  metaphors.  3.  The  best  way 
of  arriving  at  a  theory  of  disease  is  by  beginning  with  the  theory 
of  health.  4.  To  reduce  a  language  to  writing  is  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  formation  of  inflections.  5.  Having  something  to  say 
and  saying  just  that  and  no  other  is  after  all  the  secret  of  the 
art  of  writing.  6.  To  have  a  specific  style  and  always  to  use  it 
is  to  be  poor  in  speech. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  illustrating  these  substitutions. 

Adjective,  adverb,  and  independent  clauses  may  be 
contracted  by  omitting  pronouns  and  verbs  or  the  verbs 
alone. 

Direction. — Contract  these  adjectiva  and  adverb  clauses  and  some 
of  the  independent  clauses: — 

I.  Our  place  is  to  be  true  to  the  best  that  we  know.  2.  All 
attainable  health  is  a  duty,  all  avoidable  sickness  is  a  sin.  3. 
You  are  always  sure  to  detect  a  sham  in  the  things  which  folks 
most  affect.  4.  When  you'  are  an  anvil,  hold  you  still ;  when 
you  are  a  hammer,  strike  your  fill.  5.  No  poetry  was  ever  more 
human  than  Chaucer's  is.  6.  The  oak  does  not  grow  so  tall  as 
the  pine  grows.  7.  Truth  gets  well  if  she  is  run  over  by  a  loco- 
motive. 8.  The  most  satisfactory  impressions  of  places  which 
we  have  never  seen  are  derived  from  poetry.  9.  Lawyers  are 
the  cleverest  men,  ministers  are  the  most  learned,  and  doctors 
are  the  most  sensible.  10.  The  Yankee  says  that,  if  it  were  possi- 
ble, he  would  have  no  outside  rows  in  his  cornfield. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  illustrating  these  contractions. 


46  Invention, 


LESSON  15. 

SUBSTITUTION  AND   CONTRACTION. 

Adjective  clauses  may  be  got  rid  of  by  dropping  the 
subject  and  verb. ;  adverb  clauses  by  dropping  the  subject, 
verb,  and  connective  ;  and  independent  clauses  by  drop- 
ping the  subject,  verbj  and  repeated  words. 

Direction.-^Get  rid  of  as  many  of  these  adjective,  adverb,  and  in- 
dependent clauses  as  you  can: — 

I.  Affectation,  which  is  the  desire  of  seeming  to  be  what  we 
are  not,  is  the  besetting  sin  of  men.  2.  Circumcision  is  not 
only  a  Jewish  custom.,  but  it  is  an  Arabian,  a  Phoenician,  and 
an  Egyptian  custom.  3.  There  is  no  place  which  is  too  humble 
for  the  glories  of  heaven  to  shine  in.  4.  One  of  the  most  famil- 
iar English  endings  of  nouns  is  <?r,  which  is  indicative  of  the 
agent.  5.  What  the  Puritans  gave  the  world  was  not  thought, 
but  it  was  action.  6.  Though  Elizabeth  was  buried  in  foreign 
intrigues,  she  was  above  all  an  English  sovereign.  7.  The  best 
sermon  which  was  ever  preached  upon  modern  society  is  "  Van- 
ity Fair."  8.  In  mere  love  of  what  was  vile,  Charles  II.  stood 
ahead  of  any  of  his  subjects.  9.  Popular  opinions  are  often  true, 
but  they  are  seldom  or  never  the  whole  truth.  10.  The  propor- 
tion of  water  which  is  commonly  found  in  butter  is  from  half 
an  ounce  to  an  ounce  in  a  pound.  11.  At  Lexington,  our  fathers 
fired  the  shot  which  was  heard  round  the  world. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  fully  illustrating  these  changes. 

An  adjective  clause  may  contract  to  a  prepositional 
phrase  with  a  noun  for  the  principal  word  ;  and  an  ad- 


Substitution  and  Contraction.  47 

verb  or  a  noun  clause  to  a  prepositional  phrase  with  a 
participle  or  a  noun  for  the  principal  word. 

Direction. — Contract  these  adjective,  adverb,  and  noun  clauses  to 
prepositional  phrases  with  nouns  or  participles  as  the  principal 
words: — 

I.  A  shrug  of  the  shoulders  would  lose  much  if  it  were  trans- 
lated into  words.  2.  Men,  like  peaches  and  pears,  grow  sweet  a 
little  while  before  they  are  ready  to  fall.  3.  A  sharp  criticism 
which  has  a  drop  of  witty  venom  in  it  stings  a  young  author  al- 
most to.  death.  4.  Many  people  fail,  because  they  neglect  their 
business.  5.  Trains  should  be  run  that  travellers  may  be  ac- 
commodated. 6.  If  we  keep  to  the  golden  mean  in  everything, 
we  shall  at  least  avoid  danger.  7.  Queen  Mary  was  hopeful 
that  she  should  be  liberated  by  France  or  Spain,  the  enemies  of 
Elizabeth.  8.  The  true  Christian  lives  as  the  New  Testament 
directs.  9.  Shakespeare  died  where  he  was  born.  10.  Milton  was 
eight  years  old  when  Shakespeare  died.  11.  Some  minute  ani- 
mals feed,  though  they  have  no  mouths  or  stomachs.  12.  Though 
we  care  for  our  bodies,  we  cannot  always  keep  them  in  health 
and  vigor.  13.  The  thought  that  the  fixed  stars  are  billions  of 
miles  away  is  appalling. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  containing  adjective  clauses,  and  those 
classes  of  adverb  and  noun  clauses  used  above,  and  illustrate  the 
changes  there  shown. 


LESSON  16 

SUBSTITUTION  AND   CONTRACTION. 

Adjective,  adverb,  noun,  and  independent  clauses  may 
be  contracted  to  participles,  or  to  phrases  containing 
participles. 


48  Invention, 


Direction. — Change  each  dependent  clause  in  these  sentences,  and 
an  independent  clause  in  the  compound  sentence,  to  a  participle,  oi* 
to  a  phrase  containing  a  participle: — 

I.  Men  who  have  not  handled  books  from  infancy  are  afraid 
of  them.  2.  Glaciers,  which  flow  down  mountain  gorges,  obey 
the  law  of  rivers.  3.  Good  Americans,  when  they  die,  go  to 
Paris.  4.  Error  dies  of  lockjaw  if  she  scratches  her  finger.  5. 
That  a  maple  tree  has  sex  seems  a  little  strange.  6.  When  John- 
son wrote  for  publication,  he  did  his  sentences  out  of  English 
into  Johnsonese.  7.  Death,  though  it  delays  its  visit  long,  will 
certainly  knock  at  every  door.  8.  Dark  clothes  are  warm  in 
summer,  because  they  absorb  the  rays  of  the  sun.  9.  The  only 
criticism  made  upon  Washington  is,  that  he  was  not  intellectu- 
ally eminent.  10.  Franklin  must  have  been  a  wise  philosopher, 
since  he  is  quoted  by  everybody.  11.  What  boy  does  not  la- 
ment that  he  never  heard  Daniel  Webster  speak  .>  12.  The 
Mosque  of  Omar  occupies  the  site  of  Solomon's  Temple,  and  it 
is  the  most  graceful  building  in  the  East. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  containing  (i)  restrictive  and  (2)  unre- 
strictive  adjective  clauses,  (3)  those  kinds  of  adverb  and  (4)  of  noun 
clauses  used  above,  and  (5)  independent  clauses,  and  illustrate  the 
changes  there  made. 

Adverb  and  independent  clauses  may  be  contracted  to 
absolute  phrases. 

Direction. — Change  one  independent  clause  in  each  compound  sen- 
tence  below  to  an  absolute  phrase,  and  every  adverb  clause  in  the 
complex  sentences  to  one: — 

I .  When  the  cat's  away,  the  mice  will  play.  2.  The  letter  A  was 
once  a  picture,  a  bull's  head  was  represented  by  it.  3.  The 
tides  rise  higher  than  usual  at  new  moon,  since  the  sun  and 
moon  then  act  in  conjunction.  4.  Though  the  age  of  reading 
and  of  thinking  men  has  come,  the  age  of  bullets  is  not  over.  5. 
If  the  boy  sows  the  seeds  of  moral  or  physical  ill  health,  the  man 


Substitution  and  Contraction,  49 


will  reap  the  bitter  harvest.  6.  We  have  passed  the  21st  of 
Sept.,  as  the  sun  sets  now  before  six.  7.  Every  inordinate  cup 
is  unblessed,  and  the  ingredient  is  a  devil. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  containing  the  kinds  of  adverb  clauses 
used  above,  and  write  compound  sentences,  and  illustrate  the  changes 
there  shown. 


LESSON  17. 

SUBSTITUTION   AND    CONTRACTION. 

Adjective,  adverb,  and  noun  clauses  may  be  contracted 
to  infinitive  phrases. 

Direction. — Contract  the  dependent  clauses  in  these  sentences  to 
phrases  containing  infinitives. 

I.  A  general  often  leaves  his  camp-fires  burning  that  they 
may  conceal  his  retreat.  2.  Modern  failures  are  of  such  magni- 
tude that  they  appal  the  imagination.  3.  Some  students  are 
foolish,  because  they  study  so  late  at  night.  4.  We  should  rejoice 
when  we  hear  of  the  prosperity  of  others.  5.  It  is  of  the  very 
nature  of  an  interjection  that  it  eludes  the  meshes  of  a  defini- 
tion, 6.  Every  Bostonian  thinks  that  the  State  House  is  the 
hub  of  the  solar  system.  7.  The  Son  of  Man  had  no  place 
where  he  might  lay  his  head,  8.  That  we  make  the  most  of 
golden  opportunities  is  a  privilege  as  well  as  a  duty.  9.  The  in- 
fluence of  school  prizes  is,  that  they  lead  pupils  to  study  for  the 
sake  of  them.  10.  Everybody  is  quite  sure  that  he  shall  make  a 
mint  of  money  in  his  speculation,  ii.  His  friends  do  not  know 
how  or  where  they  should  look  for  the  body  of  A.  T.  Stewart. 
12.  People  in  this  country  are  seldom  without  the  means  by 
which  they  can  procure  food.  13.  How  delightful  it  would  be 
if  we  could  throw  away  our  locks  and  turn  our  jails  and  prisons 
into  hospitals!     14.  There  is  a  time  when  one  may  dance. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  containing  the  kinds  of  adjective,  ad- 


50  Invention, 


verb,  and  noun  clauses  used  above,  and  illustrate  the  changes  there 
made. 

Direct  questions  or  quotations  may  be  changed  to  in- 
direct, and  indirect  to  direct. 

Direction. — Change  the  direct  questions  and  quotations  below  and 
in  Lesson  13  to  indirect,  and  the  indirect  to  direct: — 

I.  An  Athenian,  sent  to  Sparta  on  public  business,  reported, 
on  returning  to  his  native  city,  that  he  understood  why  the 
Spartans  were  so  ready  to  remain  on  the  battle-field,  as  a  Spar- 
tan death  was  less  formidable  than  a  Spartan  dinner.  2.  Agesi- 
laus  the  Great,  hearing  one  praise  an  orator  who  had  the  power 
of  magnifying  little  things,  said,  **  I  do  not  like  a  shoemaker  who 
puts  large  shoes  on  a  small  foot."  3.  Had  a  Spartan  been  asked, 
"  What  is  the  chief  end  of  man  ?"  he  would  have  answered  by 
inquiring  if  it  was  not  to  live  as  uncomfortably  as  possible,  and 
to  die  fighting,  spitted  by  a  hostile  spear. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  illustrating  these  changes. 

Adverb  clauses  may  be  changed  to  adjective  clauses, 
and  one  of  the  independent  clauses  in  a  compound  sen- 
tence to  an  adjective  or  an  adverb  clause. 

Direction. — Change  the  adverb  clause  below  to  an  adjective  clause, 
and  one  clause  of  each  compound  sentence  to  a  dependent  clause,  ad- 
jective or  adverb: — 

I.  Give  us  the  luxuries  of  life,  and  we  will  dispense  with  its 
necessaries.  2.  There  is  surely  an  eclipse,  it  is  growing  dark  at 
midday.  3.  The  engines  are  returning,  the  fire  is  put  out.  4. 
When  a  miser  has  lost  his  hoard,  he  has  nothing  left  to  comfort 
him.  5.  The  prodigal  son  had  the  best  of  reasons  for  staying  at 
home,  yet  he  wandered  away  from  it.  6.  Pearls  are  worn  by 
queens,  and  yet  they  are  formed  inside  of  oyster  shells. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  illustrating  all  these  changes. 


Expansion  and  Suhstituiton,  5I 


LESSON  18. 

EXPANSION   AND   SUBSTITUTION. 

Direction. — By  expansion  and  substitution  illustrate,  with  the  sen- 
tences in  this  and  in  the  following  Lesson,  the  teaching  of  the  last  four 
Lessons,  and  give  an  account  of  your  work: 

I.  Everybody  has  something  to  teach  us.  2.  Almost  extin- 
guished among  the  Jews,  sacrifice  is  still  a  part  of  the  worship 
of  the  Bedouin  Arab.  3.  Adam  Smith's  "  Wealth  of  Nations" 
is  one  of  the  most  important  books  men  have  written.  4.  The 
wonderful  having  become  common,  we  are  likely  to  overlook  it. 

5.  George  the  Third's  reign  was  the  golden  age  of  mediocrity. 

6.  Milton  was  not  only  the  highest  but  the  completest  type  of 
Puritanism.  7.  The  setting  sun,  mantling  with  the  bloom  of 
roses  the  Alpine  snows,  had  to  our  eyes  a  value  beyond  its  optical 
one.  8.  A  race  shortening  its  weapons  lengthens  its  boundaries. 
9.  We  are  all  tattoed  in  our  cradles  with  the  national  beliefs  and 
prejudices.  10.  The  story  of  Cromwell's  being  prevented  by  a 
royal  embargo  from  crossing  the  sea  to  America  is  probably  un- 
founded. II.  No  poet  of  the  first  class  has  ever  left  a  school  be- 
hind him,  his  imagination  being  incommunicable.  12.  A  peti- 
tion from  the  officers  of  Parliament  demanded  the  withdrawal 
of  the  proposal  tc^  restore  the  monarchy.  13.  After  eating 
honey,  one  thinks  his  tea  to  be  without  sugar.  14.  The  fire  is 
put  out,  for  the  engines  are  returning.  15.  Had  you  asked  Dr. 
Johnson  what  his  opinion  of  a  sick  man  was,  he  would  have  re- 
plied, "  Every  man  is  a  rascal  as  soon  as  he  is  sick."  16.  To  de- 
fend ourselves  and  our  own  is  an  imperative  duty.  17.  The 
Nibelungen  Lied,  the  great  epic  of  Germany,  dates,  in  all  prob- 
ability, back  to  1200.  18.  The  best  of  perfumes  is  just  fresh  air 
with  no  m.ixture  of  anything  in  it.  19.  Shakespeare  was  forty- 
four  years  old  at  Milton's  birth.    20.  Mohammedans  try  to  live  up 


5  i  Invention. 


to  the  teachings  of  the  Koran.  21.  Wishing  to  enjoy  the  Adi- 
rondacks,  you  must  carry  mountains  in  your  brain.  22.  Read 
by  every  one,  the  words  of  the  English  Bible  do  not  become 
obsolete.  23.  The  effect  of  friction  is  to  heat  the  substances 
rubbed.  24.  We  are  certain  in  the  end  to  overcome  evil  with 
good.  25.  The  weeds  in  our  gardens  and  in  our  minds  are  likely 
to  grow  so  fast  as  to  choke  the  plants.  26.  Staying  at  home, 
one  may  visit  Italy  and  the  tropics.  27.  Trifles  light  as  air 
are  to  the  jealous  confirmations  strong  as  proofs  from  holy  writ. 

Direction. — Write  sentences  and  expand  them  to  illustrate  the 
points  made  above.  When  you  can,  illustrate,  as  above,  more  than  one 
point  in  a  sentence. 


LESSON  19. 

EXPANSION  AND    SUBSTITUTION. 

I.  The  lamper  eel  fastens  upon  a  person  or  a  fish  to  suck  out 
the  blood.  2.  We  are  always  glad  to  harness  a  force  of  nature 
to  our  work.  3.  Drive  a  strange  ox  into  a  pasture,  and  there 
will  always  be  a  trial  of  strength  between  him  and  the  leader  of 
the  herd.  4.  The  dough  not  being  well  kneaded,  the  bread  is  too 
porous.  5.  Dry  flour  having  been  added  to  the  dough,  the  loaf 
will  be  hard  and  close.  6.  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  unjust  to  him- 
self to  write,  after  the  great  failure,  almost  without  cessation. 
7.  We  are  sorry  to  see  the  days  growing  shorter  and  the  nights 
longer.  8.  It  is  a  good  sign,  when  writing,  to  have  your  feet  grow 
cold.  9.  The  frost  having  appeared,  the  yellow  fever  is  still 
loth  to  leave.  10,  Liberty's  knowing  nothing  but  victory  has 
almost  become  an  adage.  11.  Everybody  concedes  Washing- 
ton's having  been  a  purer  patriot  than  Napoleon.  12.  God. 
made  the  country,  and  man  the  town.  13.  To  earn  is  to  have. 
14.  Being  delightful  is  being  classic.  15.  Capt.  Eads  is  building 
jetties  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  for  the  improvement  of 
the  channel.    16.  With  good  health  and  cheerful  spirits,  one 


Composition  of  Sentences,  53 

can  accomplish  much.  17.  By  keeping  the  fields  free  from 
weeds,  one  will  not  necessarily  reap  a  bountiful  harvest.  18. 
By  allowing  the  weeds  to  grow  unchecked,  the  farmer  will  reap 
nothing  at  all.  19.  Rain,  falling,  rises  from  the  lakes  and  seas 
as  vapor.  20.  Night  came  on,  closing  the  petals  of  the  flowers. 
21.  A  strong  argument  against  the  jury-system  is  the  court's 
excluding  intelligent  men  from  the  jury-box.  22.  Arnold  was 
fearful  of  being  detected  in  his  treason.  23.  Each  rogue,  re- 
pentant, melts  his  stern  papa.  24.  Cairo  is  situated  at  the 
junction  of  the  Ohio  with  the  Mississippi.  25.  The  Nile,  rising 
to  a  certain  height,  makes  Egypt  fruitful.  26.  By  no  enactment 
of  Maine  Laws  will  legislatures  utterly  destroy  intemperance. 
27.  The  grass  is  covered  with  dew  this  morning,  because  the 
night  was  clear  and  cool.  28.  By  the  concealment  of  his  crime, 
the  murderer  escaped  detection.  29.  A  scholar  who  has  lost  his 
money  is  not  a  bankrupt.  30.  Though  we  live  in  time  and  space, 
yet  we  can  understand  neither.  31.  Water,  one  of  whose  ele- 
ments is  inflammable  and  the  other  supports  combustion,  is  it- 
self hostile  to  fire.  32.  The  ice,  having  contracted  and  left  great 
cracks,  must  have  been  subjected  to  very  low  temperature.  33. 
Hamlet's  mother  asking  him,  "What  have  I  done  that  thou 
dar'st  wag  thy  tongue  in  noise  so  rude  against  me  .^"  he  replied 
that  it  was  an  act  which  blurred  the  grace  and  blush  of  modesty. 
34.  Roads  are  repaired  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers. 

Direction. — Be  careful  so  to  expand  and  change  the  sentences  in 
these  two  Lessons  that  every  point  in  the  four  preceding  Lessons  shall 
be  illustrated.     Give  the  reason  for  every  mark  of  punctuation  in  them. 


LESSON  20. 

COMPOSITION   OF   SENTENCES. 

Direction. — Notice  how,  by  reducing  some  of  these  simple  sentences 
to  adjective  clauses  and  afterwards  to  participle  and  prepositional 
phrases,  this  series  of  sentences  is  converted  into  one  sentence;— 


54  Invention. 


I  greatly  admire  the  Alps.  I  see  them  distinctly  from  the 
windows  of  my  "  Castles  in  Spain."  I  delight  in  the  taste  of  the 
southern  fruit.  This  fruit  ripens  upon  my  terraces.  I  enjoy 
the  pensive  shade  of  the  Italian  ruins.  These  ruins  are  in  my 
gardens.  I  like  to  shoot  crocodiles.  I  like  to  talk  with  the 
Sphinx.  The  Sphinx  stands  upon  the  shores  of  the  Nile.  The 
Nile  flows  through  my  domain. = 

I  greatly  admire  the  Alps,  which  I  see  distinctly  from  the 
windows  of  my  "  Castles  in  Spain  ;"  I  delight  in  the  taste  of  the 
southern  fruit  that  ripens  upon  my  terraces ;  I  enjoy  the  pensive 
shade  of  the  Italian  ruins  which  are  in  my  gardens ;  I  like  to 
shoot  crocodiles,  and  talk  with  the  Sphinx  standing  upon  the 
shores  of  the  Nile  which  flows  through  my  domain. = 

I  greatly  admire  the  Alps,  seen  distinctly  from  the  windows  of 
"  Castles  in  Spain  ;"  I  delight  in  the  taste  of  the  southern  fruit 
ripening  upon  my  terraces;  I  enjoy  the  pensive  shade  of  the 
Italian  ruins  in  my  gardens  ;  I  like  to  shoot  crocodiles,  and  talk 
with  the  Sphinx  upon  the  shores  of  the  Nile  flowing  through 
my  domain. 

Direction. — Notice  how,  by  the  use  of  adverb  and  adjective  clauses 
and  prepositional  phrases,  these  sentences  reduce  to  a  single  beautiful 
sentence: — 

The  confusion  of  unloading  was  long  over.  The  ship  lay  at 
the  wharf.  All  her  voyages  seemed  to  be  ended.  Then  I  dared 
to  creep  timorously  along  the  edge  of  the  dock.  The  water  of 
its  huge  shadow  was  black.  The  risk  of  falling  into  it  was  great. 
I  placed  my  hand  upon  the  hot  hulk.  I  thus  established  a  mystic 
and  exquisite  connection  with  Pacific  islands,  with  palm  groves, 
and  with  passionate  beauties.  These  beauties  the  palm  groves 
embower.  I  established  a  mystic  and  exquisite  connection  with 
jungles,  Bengal  tigers,  pepper,  and  the  crushed  feet  of  Chinese 
fairies.  = 

Long  after  the  confusion  of  unloading  was  over,  and  the  ship 
lay  at  the  wharf,  as  if  all  voyages  were  ended,  I  dared  to  creep 
timorously  along  the  edge  of  the  dock,  and,  at  great  risk  of  falling 
into  the  black  water  of  its  huge  shadow,  placed  my  hand  upon  the 


Composition  of  Sente7ices,  55 

hot  hulk,  and  so  established  a  mystic  and  exquisite  connection 
with  Pacific  islands,  with  palm  groves,  and  all  the  passionate 
beauties  they  embower;  with  jungles,  Bengal  tigers, pepper,  and 
the  crushed  feet  of  Chinese  fairies. 

Direction. — Contract  each  of  these  groups  of  sentences  to  a  single 
sentence: 

The  sails  hung  ready.  The  ship  lay  in  the  stream.  Busy 
little  boats  darted  about  her.  Puffing  little  steamers  darted  about 
her.  They  clung  to  her  sides.  They  paddled  away  from  her. 
They  led  the  way  to  the  sea.  In  this  manner  minnows  might 
pilot  a  whale. 

Balthazar  Gerard  was  the  murderer  of  Prince  William  of 
Orange.  William  was  surnamed  William  the  Silent.  Gerard 
had  dropped  his  pistols.  He  dropped  them  on  the  spot.  The 
spot  was  where  he  had  committed  the  crime.  Upon  his  person 
were  found  two  bladders.  These  bladders  were  provided  with  a 
piece  of  pipe.  With  these  bladders  he  had  intended  to  assist 
himself  across  the  moat.  Beyond  this  moat  a  horse  was  wait- 
ing for  him. 

My  grandfather  Titbottom  called  me  into  his  presence.  I  was 
a  mere  child.  He  said  he  should  soon  be  gone.  He  wanted  to 
leave  with  me  some  memento  of  his  love.  These  spectacles  are 
valuable.  He  knew  of  nothing  more  valuable.  Your  grand- 
mother brought  them  from  her  native  island.  She  arrived  here 
one  summer  morning,  long  ago. 

Those  days  are  long  past  now.  But  still  I  walk  upon  the 
Battery.  I  look  towards  the  Narrows.  Beyond  them  there  are 
many  friends.  I  know  this.  They  are  separated  fromane  by  the 
sea.  Of  these  I  would  so  gladly  know.  Of  these  I  so  rarely 
hear. 

Direction. — Expand  the  two  absolute  phrases,  the  two  phrases 
beginning  with  participles,  and  the  explanatory  phrase  below  into 
clauses,  contract  the  adjective  clause,  and  rewrite  the  sentence: — 

And  then — Homer's  frenzy  of  youthful  adventure  once  appeased, 


56  Invention, 


his  knowledge  embracing  everything  that  was  known  in  his  age 
— the  image  of  the  beautiful  Ionia  once  more  arose  to  his  vision, 
and  a  home-longing,  like  that  of  Odysseus,  sitting  on  the  rocky- 
shore  of  Calypso's  isle,  yearning  for  Ithaca,  the  dwelling  of  his 
wife  and  son,  compelled  him  to  return. 

Direction. — Expand  six  of  the  participles  and  participle  phrases  and 
one  prepositional  phrase,  in  this  sentence,  into  clauses,  five  of  which 
shall  be  adjective  clauses  and  two  adverb,  and  see  how  the  unity  and 
clearness  of  the  sentence  are  marred: — 

The  history  of  the  preceding  events  is  the  history  of  wrongs 
inflicted  and  sustained  by  various  tribes,  which,  indeed,  all  dwelt 
on  English  ground,  but  which  regarded  each  other  with  aversion 
such  as  has  scarcely  ever  existed  between  communities  separated 
by  ph)''sical  barriers  ;  for  even  the  mutual  animosity  of  countries 
at  war  with  each  other  is  languid  when  compared  with  the  ani- 
mosity of  nations  which,  morally  separated,  are  yet  locally  inter- 
mingled. 

Direction. — See  into  how  many  sentences,  simple  and  complex,  you 
can  resolve  the  preceding  sentence. 

Direction. — Change  the  noun  clauses  and  participle  phrase  below  to 
infinitive  phrases,  and  infinitive  phrase  to  a  participle,  and  then  see  into 
how  many  sentences  you  can  resolve  the  whole: — 

Bishop  Jewel  declared  that  the  clerical  garb  was  a  stage  dress, 
and  promised  that  he  would  spare  no  labor  to  extirpate  such 
degrading  absurdities,  while  Archbishop  Grindal  long  hesitated 
about  accepting  a  mitre. 

Direction. — Change  the  proper  connectives  and  form  two  compound 
sentences  out  of  the  first  group  of  sentences  below,  and  three  out  of 
the  second  groups: — 

Charles  II.  bestowed  much.  He  never  gave  spontaneously 
He  neither  enjoyed  the  pleasure  nor  acquired  the  fame  of  be- 
neficence.    It  was  painful  to  him  to  refuse. 

The  poet  uses  words,    We  observe  certain  phenomena.    We 


Synthesis  of  Sentences  into  Paragraphs.     57 


cannot  explain  them  into  material  causes.  Logicians  may  rea- 
son about  abstractions.  We  therefore  infer  something  not  ma- 
terial. The  great  mass  of  men  must  have  images.  They  are 
merely  the  instruments  of  his  art,  not  its  objects.  We  can  de- 
fine it  only  by  negatives.  Of  this  something  we  have  no  idea. 
The  tendency  of  the  multitude  in  all  ages  to  idolatry  can  be  ex- 
plained on  no  other  principle.  We  can  reason  about  it  only  by 
symbols. 

Direction. — Change  these  sentences  as  you  need,  and  fit  them 
together  into  three  complex  sentences,  one  of  which  shall  contain  an 
adjective  clause,  one  an  adverb  clause  of  condition  and  the  other  a 
clause  of  purpose,  a  clause  of  manner  and  a  noun  clause  : — 

He  pries  into  all  the  circumstances  and  conditions  of  her  life. 
It  was  a  loathsome  herd.  Could  despondency  and  asperity  be 
excused  in  any  man  }  He  deals  with  her  austerely.  It  could  be 
compared  to  nothing  but  the  rabble  of  Comus.  Mr.  Mure  scru- 
tinizes every  expression  in  Sappho's  poems.  He  does  this  for 
the  purpose  of  detecting  confessions  of  guilt.  They  might  have 
been  overlooked  in  ^filton.  John  Knox  dealt  with  poor  Queen 
Mary  as  austerely.  Almost  compels  us  to  the  belief  that  Scotch 
Presbyterians  have  an  invincible  antipathy  to  handsome 
women. 

Direction, — Give  the  rules  for  your  punctuation  in  this  Lesson. 


LESSON  21. 

SYNTHESIS    OF    SENTENCES    INTO    PARAGRAPHS. 

You  are  now  acquainted  with  all  the  parts  of  a  speech, 
and  have  used  them  in  their  various  offices  and  relations 
in  the  sentence.  You  have  familiarized  yourselves  with 
word,  phrase,   and  clause  modifiers,  simple,  compound, 


58  Invention. 


and  complex,  and  have  constructed  sentences  of  all 
kinds,  simple,  complex,  and  compound.  You  have  learned 
all  the  ways  of  contracting  complex  and  compound 
sentences  to  simple,  of  expanding  simple  sentences  to 
complex  and  compound,  and  of  substituting  one  word, 
phrase,  or  clause  for  another — in  fine,  you  have  been 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  sentence,  and  have  learned 
to  construct  it  in  all  its  varieties. 

The  Pakagkaph. — Having  put  words,  phrases,  and 
clauses  together  to  form  sentences,  we  must  learn  to  join 
sentences  together  to  form  paragraphs.  We  say  join 
sentences  together  J  for,  just  as  words,  phrases,  and  clauses 
are  more  or  less  closely  united  in  the  sentence  in  mean- 
ing and  in  position,  excluding  from,  or  admitting,  be- 
tween them  a  comma,  a  dash,  a  semicolon,  or  a  colon,  so 
sentences  separated  by  a  period  or  other  terminal  point 
may  be  connected — the  bond  which  unites  them  being 
tkeir  common  relation  to  the  thougj^t,  or  point,  which 
jointly  they  develop  and  express.  Sentences  thus  related 
and  grouped  together  form  what  we  call  a  paragraph. 
Sometimes  a  single  sentence,  sufficiently  developing  the 
point,  forms  a  paragraph.  The  paragraph  is  exceeding- 
ly useful,  if  not  absolutely  necessary,  in  announcing  to 
the  reader  where  th(^  development  of  a  point  b^p-ins  and 
gnds.  The  paragraph  is  indicated  to  the  eye  by  begin- 
ning a  little  to  the  right  of  the  marginal  line  of  the  page. 

James  II.  at  the  moment  of  his  accession  was  in  doubt  whether 
the  kingdom  would  peacefully  submit  to  his  authority.  The 
Exclusionists,  lately  so  powerful,  might  rise  in  arms  against  him. 
He  might  be  in  great  need,  as  was  his  brother,  of  French  money 
and  French  troops.  He  was,  therefore,  during  some  days,  con- 
tent to  be  a  sycophant  and  a  mendicant.  He  humbly  apologized 
to  Louis  XIV.  for  daring  to  call  Parliament  together  without  the 
consent   of  the  French  government.     He   begged   hard  for  a 


Synthesis  of  Sentences  into  Paragraphs,     59 


French  subsidy.  He  wept  with  joy  over  the  French  bills  of  ex- 
change. He  sent  to  Versailles  a  special  embassy  charged  with 
assurances  of  his  gratitude,  attachment,  and  submission. 

Direction. — Note  the  facts  which  the  paragraph  above  contains, 
and  how  they  are  expressed. 

I  James  the  First's  doubt.  2.  The  possible  rising  of  the  Ex- 
clusionists.  3.  The  King's  possible  need.  4.  What  he  was  con- 
tent to  be.  5.  His  apology — to  whom  and  for  what.  6.  His  peti- 
tion.    7.  His  joy.     8.  His  embassy — whither  and  for  what  sent. 

Direction. — State  and  number  the  facts  in  these  paragraphs,  and 
then,  without  reference  to  the  text,  develop  these  facts  into  paragraphs 
of  your  own: — 

For  many  years  after  the  Restoration,  the  Puritans  were  the 
theme  of  unmeasured  invective  and  derision.  They  were  ex- 
posed to  the  utmost  licentiousness  of  the  press  and  of  the  stage, 
at  the  time  when  the  press  and  the  stage  were  most  licentious. 
They  were  not  men  of  letters  ;  they  were,  as  a  body,  unpopular; 
they  could  not  defend  themselves;  and  the  public  would  not 
take  them  under  its  protection.  They  were,  therefore,  abandon- 
ed, without  reserve,  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  satirists  and 
dramatists.  The  ostentatious  simplicity  of  their  dress,  their 
sour  aspect,  their  nasal  twang,  their  stiff  posture,  their  long 
graces,  their  Hebrew  names,  their  contempt  of  human  learning, 
and  their  detestation  of  polite  amusements  were,  indeed,  fair 
game  for  the  laughers. 

The  Puritans  recognized  no  title  to  superiority  but  the  favor 
of  God  ;  and,  confident  of  that  favor,  they  despised  all  the  accom- 
plishments and  all  the  dignities  of  the  world.  If  they  were  un- 
acquainted with  the  works  of  philosophers  and  poets,  they  were 
deeply  read  in  the  oracles  of  God.  If  their  names  were  not 
found  in  the  registers  of  heralds,  they  were  recorded  in  the 
Book  of  Life.  If  their  steps  were  not  accompanied  by  a  splen- 
did train  of  menials,  legions  of  ministering  angels  had  charge 
over  them.  Their  palaces  wxre  not  made  with  hands  ;  their  dia- 
dems crowns  of  glory  which  should  never  fade  away.    On  the 


6o  Invention. 


rich  and  the  eloquent,  on  nobles  and  priests  they  looked  down 
with  contempt ;  for  they  esteemed  themselves  rich  in  a  more 
precious  treasure  and  eloquent  in  a  more  sublime  language, 
nobles  by  the  right  of  an  earlier  creation,  and  priests  by  the  im- 
position of  a  mightier  hand. 

Direction. — See  into  what  sort  of  clause  you  can  expand  the 
phrase  beginning  with  confident ;  into  what  phrases  you  can  contract 
the  three  clauses  beginning  with  if,  and  into  what  word  the  clause 
beginning  with  which. 

When  More  heard  the  voice  of  one  who  was  known  to  have 
boggled  hard  at  the  oath  a  little  while  before,  calling  loudly  and 
ostentatiously  for  drink,  he  only  noted  him  with  his  peculiar 
humor.  "  He  drank,"  More  supposed,  "  either  from  dryness  or 
from  sadness"  or  **  quod  ille  notus  PontificH'  More  was  called 
in  again  at  last,  but  only  repeated  his  refusal.  It  was  in  vain 
that  Cranmer  plied  him  with  distinctions  which  perplexed  even 
the  subtle  wit  of  the  ex-chancellor;  he  remained  unshaken  and 
passed  to  the  Tower.  For  the  moment,  even  Cromwell  shrank 
from  his  blood.  More  remained  a  prisoner,  while  new  victims 
were  chosen  to  overawe  the  silent  but  widely  spread  opposition 
to  the  bill  of  Supremacy. 

A  mock  trial  was  hardly  necessary  for  the  condemnation  of 
More  or  for  that  of  Fisher,  the  most  learned  of  the  prelates  who 
had  favored  the  New  Learning,  and  who  had  been  imprisoned,  on 
the  same  charge,  in  the  Tower.  The  old  bishop  approached  the 
block  with  a  book  of  the  New  Testament  in  his  hand.  He 
opened  it,  at  a  venture,  ere  he  knelt,  and  read,  "This  is  life 
eternal  to  know  Thee,  the  only  true  God."  His  death  was  soon 
followed  by  that  of  More.  On  the  eve  of  the  fatal  blow,  he 
moved  his  beard  carefully  from  the  block.  **  Pity  that  should 
be  cut,"  he  was  heard  to  mutter  with  a  touch  of  the  old,  sad 
irony,  "  that  has  never  committed  treason," 


Synthesis  of  Sentences  into  Paragraphs,     6 1 


LESSON  22. 

SYNTHESIS  OF  SENTENCES  INTO  PARAGRAPHS.. 

Direction. — Construct  out  of  these  groups  of  bald  facts  paragraphs 
of  three  sentences  each,  placing  the  facts  in  their  proper  relation  and 
supplying  what  is  needed,  and  write  on  the  first  line  of  each  paragraph 
the  topic  it  develops: — 

The  same  elements  in  flesh  as  in  flour.  In  animals  as  in 
plants.  The  vegetable  draws  water  and  minerals  from  the  soil. 
Absorbs  and  incorporates  the  air.  Eaten,  it  sustains  the  life  of 
animals.  Hence  animals  gain  the  substances  the  vegetable 
first  acquired.  The  vegetable  receives  from  the  animal  the  air 
thrown  out  in  respiration.  Lives  and  grows  upon  it.  The  ani- 
mal itself  becomes  its  food.  The  very  bones  made  to  increase 
the  growth  of  vegetables.  These  eaten  by  the  animal,  the  ani- 
mal eats  its  own  bones  and  lives  on  its  own  flesh. 

Organs  and  tissues  of  the  body  continually  changing.  Atoms 
present  one  hour  gone  the  next.  When  gone,  the  body  wasted. 
Unless  renewal  attends  the  process..  Renewing  substance  must 
be  of  the  same  nature  as  the  wasted.  Bone  renewed  by  bone. 
Flesh  by  flesh.  Body  always  changing,  yet  the  same.  This 
duty  assigned  to  food.  Supplies  to  each  part  same  kind  of 
material  lost. 

The  amount  of  vital  action  shown  by  respiration  and  pulsa- 
tion. At  night,  low  and  tolerably  uniform.  High  and  varying 
during  the  day.  Large  increase  after  a  meal.  Decrease,  before 
the  next  meal.  Increase  followed  by  decrease,  due  to  food, 
proves  its  influence  temporary.  After  a  sufficient  interval, 
another  supply  of  food  necessary.  But  the  body  not  a  passive 
agent.  Not  entirely  subject  to  the  action  of  food.  No  supply 
could  prevent  decrease  of  vital  action  at  night.  Nor  make  them 
equal  night  and  day. 

Direction. — Construct  out  of  this  group  of  bald  facts  two  paragraphs, 


62  Invention. 


supplying  what  is  needed  to  make  the  narrative  smooth  and  flowing, 
and  write  on  the  first  Hne  of  each  paragraph  the  topic  developed: — 

Was  in  my  working  dress.  Best  clothes  not  yet  arrived.  Was 
dirty  from  my  journey.  Pockets  stuffed  with  shirts  and  stock- 
ings. Knew  no  soul  or  where  to  look  for  lodging.  Fatigued 
with  travelling  and  want  of  rest.  Money,  a  Dutch  dollar,  and  a 
shilling  in  copper.  Shilling  offered  for  my  passage.  Refused. 
Because  I  had  rowed.  Then  I  walked  up  the  street.  Gazed 
about.  Hungry.  Met  a  boy  with  bread.  Had  made  many  a 
meal  on  bread.  Inquired  where  he  got  it.  Went  to  the  baker's. 
Second  street.  Asked  for  biscuit.  Meant  such  as  we  had  in 
Boston.  Were  none  in  Philadelphia.  Asked  for  a  three-penny 
loaf.  Had  none.  Ignorant  how  cheap  bread  was.  Ignorant 
of  the  names  of  his  bread.  Asked  for  three-penny  worth  of  any 
sort.    Three  great,  puffy  rolls. 

Direction. — Construct  out  of  this  group  of  facts  three  paragraphs, 
keeping  up  the  direct  discourse  as  far  as  possible,  and  write,  as  directed 
above,  the  topics  developed: — 

A  pious  Brahmin  made  a  vow.  Would  sacrifice  a  sheep. 
Went  forth  to  buy  one.  In  his  neighborhood,  three  rogues. 
Knew  his  vow.  Laid  a  scheme.  The  first  met  him,  and  asked 
if  he  would  buy  a  sheep.  Had  one  fit  for  sacrifice.  For  that 
very  purpose  he  came  forth  this  day.  The  rogue  opened  a  box. 
Brought  out  an  unclean  beast.  An  ugly  dog.  Wretch,  callest 
thou  that  cur  a  sheep  }  Truly,  a  sheep  of  the  finest  fleece  and  of 
the  sweetest  flesh.  An  offering  acceptable  to  the  gods.  Friend, 
thou  or  I  must  be  blind.  The  second  confederate  came  up. 
Praised  be  the  gods.  Am  saved  the  trouble  of  going  to  market 
for  a  sheep.  What  I  wanted.  For  what  wilt  thou  sell  it  }  The 
Brahmin  heard  it.  Mind  wavered.  Take  heed  what  thou  doest. 
No  sheep.  An  unclean  cur.  Said  the  new  comer.  Art  drunk 
or  mad.  A  third  confederate  came  near.  Ask  this  man  what 
the  creature  is.  Will  stand  by  what  he  says.  Agreed.  He 
called  out.  Stranger,  what  dost  thou  call  this  beast }  Surely  a 
fine  sheep.  Surely  the  gods  have  taken  away  my  senses.  Asked 
pardon  of  the  owner.     Bought  it  for  a  measure  of  rice  and  a 


Synthesis  of  Sentejtces  irito  Paragraphs,     63 

pot  of  ghee.     Offered  it  to  the  gods.     Wroth  at  the  unclean 
sacrifice.     Smote  him  with  a  sore  disease  in  all  his  joints. 


LESSON  23. 

SYNTHESIS  OF  SENTENCES  INTO  PARAGRAPHS. 

Direction. — Study  this  group  of  facts  carefully,  see  what  ones  are 
related  in  meaning  and  can  be  united,  form  as  many  paragraphs  as 
you  think  there  should  be,  and  write  the  topics  as  directed  above: — 

A  person  is  suddenly  thrust  into  a  strange  position.  Finds 
the  place  to  fit  him.  Has  committed  a  crime,  perhaps.  Sent  to 
the  State  Prison.  All  the  sharp  conditions  of  the  new  life 
stamp  themselves  on  his  consciousness.  Like  a  signet  upon 
wax.  Illustrated  by  an  image.  Did  you  ever  see  the  soft- 
spoken,  velvet-handed  steam-engine.'^  At  the  mint.  Piston 
slides  backward  and  forward.  Lady  slips  her  finger  into  and  out 
of  a  ring.  Lays  one  of  its  fingers  on  a  bit  of  metal.  A  coin 
now.  Will  remember  the  touch.  Tell  a  new  race  about  it. 
Twenty  centuries  hence.  So  a  great  silent-moving  misery  puts 
a  new  stamp  on  us.  In  an  hour.  A  moment.  Impression 
sharp.  Seems  as  if  it  had  taken  a  life-time  to  engrave  it.  Been 
down  to  the  Island.  Deer-shooting.  Island  where.'*  No  mat- 
ter. Splendid  domain.  Blue  sea  around  it.  Runs  up  into  its 
heart.  Boat  sleeps  like  a  baby  in  lap.  Tall  ships  outside. 
Stripped  to  fight  the  hurricane.  Storm  stay-sails  flying  in  rib- 
bons. Trees.  Beeches.  Oaks.  Hung  with  moss.  Bearded 
Druids.  Some  coded  in  the  clasp  of  grape-vines.  Open  patches. 
Sun  gets  in  and  goes  to  sleep.  Winds  come  down  finely  sifted. 
Soft  as  swan's  down.  Rocks.  Fresh-water  lakes.  Mary's  lake. 
Crystal-clear.  Full  of  flashing  pickerel.  Six  pounds  for  break- 
fast.    I  did  it. 

Direction. — Out  of  this  group  of  facts  construct  as  many  paragraphs 
as  you  think  there  should  be. 


64  Inventio7t, 


You  will  notice  that  the  paragraphs  are  themselves  related,  because 
the  topics  which  they  develop  are.  When  your  work  is  done,  write 
over  them  the  general  subject,  or  topic,  treated,  and  the  topic  of  each 
paragraph  as  directed  above: — 

As  early  as  131  B.  C,  Metellus  Macedonicus  lived  at  Rome. 
Admired  for  his  honorable  domestic  life.  But  he  described 
marriage  as  an  oppressive  burden.  Citizens  would  gladly  be 
clear  of  it.  Divorce  became  common.  Cato  parted  from  his 
wife.  Her  father  consenting.  Gave  her  to  his  friend  Horten- 
sius.  After  friend's  death,  married  her  again.  Marriage  in- 
volving legal  and  religious  sanctions  disappeared.  Those  ad- 
mitting of  easy  separation  became  universal.  Cicero  divorced 
his  wife.  Had  lived  with  her  thirty  years.  Married  a  young 
woman  of  wealth.  Divorced  her.  Seneca  speaks  of  *'  noble" 
women.  These  reckoned  time  not  by  the  number  of  the  consuls. 
By  the  number  of  their  successive  husbands.  Romans  had  a 
coarse  appetite  for  food.  Gluttony.  Modern  society  affords  no 
parallel.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  a  single  fish.  The 
mullet.  Suppers  extended  far  into  the  night.  Guests  inflamed 
with  wine.  Coarse  revelry.  No  uncommon  thing  for  a  Roman 
gentleman  to  take  an  emetic.  So  might  indulge  his  appetite 
again.  Prolong  the  pleasures  of  the  table.  Roman  law  gave 
absolute  power  to  slaveholder.  Could  beat,  maim,  kill  his  slave. 
Slave  could  own  no  property.  Contract  no  marriage.  When 
allowed  to  give  testimony,  examined  under  torture.  Master 
murdered  by  a  slave,  all  the  slaves  of  his  household  crucified 
without  mercy.  Slaves  brought  from  all  directions.  Largest 
numbers  from  Asia.  Every  Roman  felt  a  pride  in  owning  at 
least  a  few.  Some,  from  ten  to  twenty  thousand.  A  freedman. 
Had  lost  many  slaves.  But  able  at  his  death  to  leave  41 16. 
Among  slaves  were  sometimes  carpenters,  secretaries,  physicians, 
and  architects.  Nothing  to  prevent  a  drunken  master  from 
wreaking  vengeance  on  his  slave.  Except  pecuniary  loss.  Old 
slaves  who  could  no  longer  work  sold  for  what  they  would 
fetch.  The  Circus  in  Julius  Caesar's  time  had  seats  for  1 50,000 
men.  Titus  added  seats  for  100,000  more.  Later,  wer6  seats 
for  385,000.     Foot-races.     Feats  upon  horse-back.     Chief  thing 


Synthesis  of  Sentences  into  Paragraphs,     65 


the  chariot  race.  Several  combatants  put  in.  Chariots  and 
horses  owned  by  companies.  Keenest  excitement.  Nobles, 
emperors,  even  women  entered  into  the  contests.  Prostration 
of  Roman  dignity  and  virtue  seemed  complete. 


LESSON  24. 

SYNTHESIS  OF  SENTENCES  INTO  PARAGRAPHS  AND 
OF  PARAGRAPHS  INTO  A  THEME. 

The  Theme. — You  have  seen  that  just  as  v^ords, 
phrases,  and  clauses  may  be  joined  in  sentences,  and 
sentences,  jointly  developing  a  topic,  or  thought,  may  be 
united  into  a  paragraph,  ^o  paragraphs  may  be  conj| 
nee  ted,  standing  one  after  another  on  the  page,  because 
they  are  related — the  points,  or  thoughts,  which  they  de- 
velop, being  divisions  of  the  one  general  subject,  or 
topic.  That  which  these  paragraphs  so  related  and  so 
placed  form  is  a  coi^|]jpRiti(yi    or  theme. 

Direction. — Study  carefully  these  facts,  group  them  into  two  great 
paragraphs  whose  topics,  written  as  before,  shall  be  marked  with  Ro- 
man I.  and  11. ;  under  these  make  as  many  sub-paragraphs  as  you 
think  there  should  be,  with  their  sub-topics  marked  with  Arabic  fig- 
ures, and  write  the  subject  of  the  theme  at  the  top: — 

The  tea-plant  cultivated  in  China.  Through  about  eleven 
degrees  of  latitude.  On  hillsides.  At  an  elevation  extending  to 
4,000  feet.  Soil  rich  and  deep.  Drainage  good.  Sunlight  abun- 
dant. Will  grow  in  almost  any  temperate  climate.  Hence  farther 
north  or  south  of  the  belt  between  24°  and  35°.  Ground  requires 
good  cultivation.  The  old  leaves  becoming  hard  and  tough,  the 
old  wood  must  be  cut  out,  and  new  shoots  produced.  The  tree  re- 
mains useful  a  generation.     The  plants,  standing  five  feet  apart. 


66  Invention, 


grow  thirty  or  forty  feet  high.  Stem  a  foot  through.  By  prun- 
ing, kept  down  to  a  height  (jf  from  three  to  five  feet.  Leaves  not 
gathered  till  the  third  year.  Number  of  pickings,  four.  Wet 
season,  five.  Interval  from  four  to  six  weeks.  Process,  simple. 
Work  done  by  women  and  children.  Old  and  fibrous  leaves  left 
on  the  trees.  Young  leaves  stripped  by  the  hand.  An  inch  or  two 
of  the  soft  and  succulent  stalk  taken  with  them.  A  woman  will 
gather  from  i6  to  20  lbs.  of  raw  leaves  in  a  day.  Each  plant 
will  yield  in  the  third  season  half  a  pound  of  raw  leaves.  Two 
years  after,  the  yield  vastly  increased.  Full  grown  leaves  5  to  9 
inches  long.  Average  yield  about  320  lbs.  of  dried  tea  per  acre. 
Four  lbs.  of  green  leaves  make  one  of  dried.  Qualities  of  teas 
vary  with  time  of  picking.  Next  step  that  of  drying  and  preserv- 
ing the  leaves.  Dried  in  pans.  Pans  heated  with  straw  or  char- 
coal. No  smoke.  Heat  equally  applied.  Leaves  m.oved  by  the 
hand.  Vessel  shaken.  Rapid  drying  keeps  the  green  color. 
Longer  and  slower  drying  and  exposure  to  the  air,  fermentation 
setting  in,  produce  black  tea.  The  leaf  is  made  supple  for  rolling, 
by  the  heat.  The  flavoring  of  tea  is  a  well-known  process.  Car- 
ried on  with  the  middle  and  inferior  qualities.  Effected  by 
placing  the  tea  leaves,  while  in  the  process  of  manufacture,  in 
contact  with  the  aromatic  flowers  of  plants.  Odors  evanescent. 
Delicate  and  agreeable.  Do  not  add  to  the  chemical  or  dietetic 
value  of  the  tea.  *.  ** 

Direction. — Study  carefully  these  facts,  thrown  together  promiscu- 
ously, sort  and  arrange  them  in  six  paragraphs,  in  their  proper  order, 
and  write  the  general  topic  and  the  topic  of  each  paragraph  as  usual: — 

Each  kind  of  meat  its  own  flavor.  Tastes  of  different  per^ns 
may  be  gratified  by  selection  of  different  meats.  Each  anireal 
is  also  cut  up  into  joints.  Different  joints,  or  parts,  of  same 
animal  have  different  flavors.  Of  the  same  person  at  different 
times  also.  Not  only  of  such  parts  as  are  distinct  in  function,  as 
the  Liver  and  the  tongue.  Flesh  of  all  animals  divided  into  two 
principal  parts — fat  and  lean,  in  their  separate  state.  There  is 
also  fatty  matter  mixed  with  the  juices  and  tissues,  not  evident 
to  the  eye,    Also  of  those  parts  whose  functions  are  identical, 


Synthesis  of  Sentences  into  Paragraphs.     6  7 

Flav(5r  of  all  meats  depends  upon  juices  in  the  fibres.  On  mi- 
nufe  quantities  of  flavoring  matter  in  the  fat.  The  flavor  of  a 
teg  of  mutton  differs  from  that  of  the  shoulder.  The  propor- 
tions of  fat  and  lean  vary  with  the  animal.  Also  with  its  con- 
dition when  killed.  On  the  oily  and  fatty  matters  in  the  juices 
ip  the  meat.  But  both  joints  are  composed  of  flesh,  or  muscle. 
Roth  have  the  same  duty  to  perform.  Fine  quality  of  meat  has 
abundant  and  full-flavored  juices.  Has  also  a  considerable  pro- 
portion of  fatty  matter.  Hence  the  agreeableness  of  a  variety 
of  joints.  Fat  of  an  ox  may  be  doubled  by  feeding.  Ready  for 
market,  the  fat  of  the  ox  is  one-third  the  whole  weight.  Hence 
th£  preference  of  one  joint  over  another.  Is  red  and  pulpy. 
Irhferior  meat  is  paler.  The  proportion  of  fat  to  lean  much 
greater  in  the  sheep  and  pig  than  in  the  ox.  Least  in  calves. 
More  fibrous.  With  but  little  proper  flavjofv  Nutritive  value  of 
fat  or  lean  much  the  same  in  all  animals  used  as  food.  Fat  con- 
sists of  three  elements  in  this  proportion.  Lean  flesh  deprived  of 
fat^ consists  of  four  elements,  "j^  parts  in  100,  of  carbon.  11  of 
oxygen.  1 2  of  hydrogen.  A  weight  of  lean  meat  from  one  animal 
should  nourish  the  body  as  much  as  the  same  weight  from  another. 
But  appetite  plays  an  important  part  in  nutrition.  Nitrogen, 
carbon,  oxygen,  and  hydrogen.  Fat  decomposing,  carbon  takes 
part  of  oxygen.  Less  relish  of  food  followed  by  less  digestion. 
Less  digestion  by  less  assimilation.  Forms  carbonic  acid.  Hy- 
drogen takes  another  part.  Forms  water.  The  absence  of  ni- 
trogen in  fat.  Its  presence  in  lean.  This,  by  less  nutrition.  Fat 
generates  heat.  Both  fat  and  lean  generate  heat  in  the  system. 
Deficiency  of  oxygen  supplied  by  the  inspired  air.  Heat  is  gen- 
erated by  every  chemical  combination.  Nitrogen  enters  into 
the  composition  of  lean.  Lean  and  not  fat  contains  nitrogen. 
Lean  and  not  fat  forms  muscle. 


68  Invention, 


LESSON  25. 

SYNTHESIS  OF  SENTENCES  INTO  PARAGRAPHS  AND 
OF  PARAGRAPHS  INTO  A  THEME. 

Direction. — Study  carefully  these  facts,  thrown  together  promiscu- 
ously, sort  them,  and  group  them  into  as  many  paragraphs,  arranged  in 
their  proper  order,  as  you  think  there  should  be,  and  write  the  general 
topic  and  the  special  topics  as  usual: — 

Dr.  Cooper,  of  Albany,  stated  that  Hamilton  had  declared 
himself  opposed  to  Burr.  Dr.  C.  repeated  this  in  a  public  letter. 
Hamilton  was  jealous  of  his  reputation  for  courage.  Could  not 
afford  to  seem  to  avoid  danger.  His  early  manhood  passed  in 
camps.  Interval  of  two  weeks  between  the  challenge  and  the 
meeting.  This  was  required  by  H.to  finish  important  law  busi- 
ness. During  the  last  hours  both  parties  wrote  a  few  farewell 
lines.  In  no  act  does  the  difference  between  H.  and  B.  show 
itself  better  than  in  these  parting  letters.  Said  that  H.  and 
Judge  Kent  had  called  B.  a  dangerous  man  not  to  be  trusted 
with  the  government.  His  early  fame  had  been  won  in  the  pro- 
fession of  arms.  A  man  of  the  world.  H.  was  oppressed  with 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  his  situation.  His  duty  to  his 
creditors.  To  his  country.  Went  to  White  Plains  to  try  causes. 
In  the  habit  of  staying  at  the  house  of  a  friend.  Combatants 
met  July  ii,  1804.  Place  beneath  the  heights  of  Weehawken. 
The  New  Jersey  side  of  the  Hudson.  H.  was  carried  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  Bayard.  News  flew  through  the  town.  Sudden 
and  tragic  death  produced  universal  sorrow.  Was  the  leader  of 
the  bar.  Intense  excitement.  Bulletins  posted  at  the  Tontine. 
Changed  every  hour.  The  usual  resort  then  for  such  encounters. 
B.  fired  the  moment  the  word  was  given.  Could  detail  a  yet 
more  despicable  opinion  which  H.  had  expressed  of  B.  B.  wrote 
a  note  asking  H.  for  a  denial  of  any  expression  justifying  Dr, 


Synthesis  of  Sentences  into  Paragraphs,     69 

C.'s  assertion.  Ball  struck  H.  on  the  side.  Reeled  under  the 
blow.  Crowds  gathered  around  Mr.  Bayard's  house.  States- 
man who  had  given  the  law  to  American  Commerce.  An  ac- 
complished soldier.  The  correspondence  published,  a  storm  of 
condemnation  burst  upon  B.  Indictments  against  him  in  N.  Y. 
and  N.  J.  Pistol  discharged  into  the  air.  B.  stepped  forward 
with  a  gesture  of  regret.  His  nature  revolted  at  the  thought  of 
taking  life.  Made  his  will.  The  last  time  he  visited  there,  he  said, 
"  I  shall  probably  never  come  here  again."  H.  replied  that  he 
was  ready  to  answer  for  any  definite  opinion  he  had  uttered. 
H.  had  never  discountenanced  duelling.  Had  been  engaged  in 
the  affair  between  Laurens  and  Lee.  His  own  son  had  fallen  in 
a  duel.  His  second  hurried  him  from  the  field.  Visitors  al- 
lowed to  pass  one  at  a  time  through  the  room.  No  hope  of  his  re- 
covery. Screened  him  with  an  umbrella  from  sight.  Everywhere 
the  virtues  and  services  of  H.  celebrated.  Character  of  B.  dis- 
played in  dramatic  contrast.  Career  extraordinary.  Came  to  this 
country  without  fortune  or  friends.  H.  was  a  man  of  light 
frame.  A  disorder  prevented  the  use  of  ordinary  remedies.  Too 
late  to  take  shelter  behind  a  general  disapproval  of  a  custom 
recognized  by  his  professional  brethren  and  countenanced  by 
himself.  H.  presided  at  the  annual  banquet  of  the  Society  of 
Cincinnati.  His  manner  gave  no  indication  of  the  dreadful 
event  impending.  H.  would  have  shown  a  higher  courage  by 
braving  a  brutal  custom.  But  unjust  to  censure  him  for  not 
showing  a  courage  displayed  by  no  man  of  his  day.  H.  and  B. 
must  be  measured  by  their  own  standard,  not  by  ours.  B.  re- 
iterated his  demand  in  insolent  terms.  H.  voluntarily  stated 
that,  in  conversation  with  Dr.  C,  he  had  not  charged  B.  with 
dishonorable  conduct.  Distressed  lest  from  his  estate  his  debts 
could  not  be  paid.  Committed  his  wife  to  the  protection  of  his 
children.  Besought  them  to  vindicate  his  memory  by  making 
up  any  deficiency.  Compared  to  Rich.  HI.,  to  Catiline,  to  Saul. 
Feeling  not  confined  to  this  country.  Retained  his  composure 
to  the  last.  His  seven  children  came  into  the  room.  One  of  the 
most  influential  members  of  the  Constitutional  Convention.  Diflfi- 
cult  in  history  to  find  one  so  eminent  in  three  departments  so  un- 
like.   Surpassed  by  no  statesman  of  his  generation,     B.  went  to 


70  Invention. 


Paris  in  1810.  Requested  an  interview  with  Talleyrand.  Closed 
his  eyes.  Gave  them  one  look.  Expired  at  two  o'clock  the  day 
after  the  duel.  B.'s  parting  letters  to  his  daughter  Theodosia 
and  husband  occupied  with  directions  concerning  property  and 
papers.  Tone  of  ordinary  correspondence.  B.  changed  ground 
and  peremptorily  insisted  that  H.  should  deny  ever  having  made 
remarks  from  which  anything  derogatory  to  himself  could  be 
drawn.  This  demand  unjustifiable.  No  word  in  them  such  as 
an  affectionate  father  or  patriotic  citizen  would  use.  No  mis- 
givings as  to  the  propriety  of  his  conduct.  The  French  states- 
man could  not  refuse  him  an  interview.  "  Say  to  Col.  Burr  that 
I  will  receive  him  to-morrow,  but  tell  him,  also,  that  H.'s  likeness 
always  hangs  over  my  mantel.  It  showed  that  B.'s  desire  was 
to  goad  his  adversary  to  the  field.  He  refused.  A  challenge 
followed.  No  whisper  of  regret  at  what  he  was  about  to  do. 
A  few  lines  of  graceful  compliment  to  his  daughter.  Burr  did 
not  call.  When  in  England,  he  became  intimate  with  the  great 
Bentham.  Requests  Theodosia  to  acquire  a  critical  knowledge 
of  Latin  and  English  and  all  branches  of  natural  philosophy. 
In  his  "  Memoirs  and  Correspondence,"  Bentham  alludes  to  the 
acquaintance.  Says  B.  gave  him  an  account  of  the  duel.  B. 
was  sure  of  being  able  to  kill  H.  "  So  I  thought  it  little  better 
than  a  murder.'* 


LESSON  26. 

SYNTHESIS  OF  SENTENCES  INTO  PARAGRAPHS  AND 
OF  PARAGRAPHS  INTO  A  THEME. 

Direction. — Do  with  these  sentences  as  directed  with  those  in  the 
preceding  Lesson,  but  use  the  Roman  and  the  Arabic  notation  in 
marking  the  paragraphs : — 

It  was  on  Sunday,  the  memorable  7th  of  Oct.,  1571.  Place, 
the  entrance  to  the  Gulf  of  Lepanto.  Before  coming  within 
cannon  shot,  the  Turkish  admiral  fired  a  challenge.     Answered 


Synthesis  of  Sentences  into  Paragraphs,      7^ 

by  a  gun  from  the  galley  of  Don  John.  The  two  fleets,  the 
Moslem,  or  Ottoman,  and  the  Christian,  met.  All  Pasha,  com- 
mander in  chief,  in  the  centre.  A  second  gun.  A  second  an- 
swer. Action  began  on  the  left  wing  of  the  allied,  or  Christian, 
fleet.  Mehemet  Siroco  desired  to  turn  this  wing.  Mehemet 
Siroco,  viceroy  of  Egypt,  on  his  right.  Uluch  Ali,  dey  of  Al- 
giers, the  redoubtable  corsair  of  the  Mediterranean,  on  his  left. 
Christian  fleet  commanded  by  Don  John  of  Austria,  natural 
brother  of  Philip  11.  Commanded  in  the  centre  with  63  gal- 
leys. A  death-like  stillness  followed.  Men  held  their  breath. 
Knew  the  soundings  better  than  Barberigo  did.  Knew  there 
was  water  enough  between  B.  and  the  shore.  The  left  wing  un- 
der Barberigo,  a  noble  Venetian.  The  Genoese  Andrew  Doria, 
a  nam^  of  terror  to  the  Moslems,  with  64  galleys  on  the  right.  A 
reserve  of  35  galleys  in  the  rear  under  the  brave  Marquis  of  Santa 
Cruz.  Day  magnificent.  Sky  cloudless.  A  light  breeze  playing. 
Nearing  noon.  Not  less  than  120,000  men  in  Turkish  fleet. 
Spread  out  in  regular  half  moon.  250  royal  galleys,  numbers  of 
smaller  vessels  in  the  rear.  Succeeded  in  doubling  on  his 
enemy.  So  the  Christian  left  was  between  two  fires.  At  a  disad- 
vantage. Yells  from  the  Turkish  armada.  The  customary 
Moslem  war-cry.  Meanwhile  combat  in  the  centre  under  Don 
John  and  Ali  Pasha.  Twice  the  Spaniards  boarded.  Twice 
repulsed.  Superiority  in  the  use  of  firearms  gave  them  the  ad- 
vantage. Incessant  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry.  Different 
scene  on  board  the  Christian  galleys.  Don  John  was  standing 
on  the  prow  of  the  Real^  awaiting  the  conflict.  Eight  Venetian 
galleys  went  to  the  bottom.  More  captured.  The  brave  Bar- 
berigo, fighting  without  defensive  armor,  wounded  in  the  eye 
by  an  arrow.  The  trumpets  sounded  to  the  third  assault. 
More  successful.  Threw  themselves  into  Turkish  galleys.  Met 
by  Janissaries  as  before.  He  knelt.  Raised  his  eyes  to  heaven. 
Fight  still  lingered  on  the  right.  Uluch  Ali  attempted  Siroco's 
manoeuvre.  Prayed  to  the  Almighty  to  be  with  his  people  that 
day.  Example  followed  throughout  the  fleet.  Battle  of  Le- 
panto  more  sanguinary  than  any  sea-fight  of  modern  times. 
Raged  four  hours.  Ali  Pasha  led  them  on.  Struck  by  a  mus- 
ket ball.    Stretched  senseless  on  the  gangway.     The  voice  of 


7  2  Invention, 


their  commander  missed.  Doria  foresaw  his  movement.  Ex- 
tended his  line  so  far  to  the  right  as  to  expose  the  centre.  Vul- 
nerable point  detected  by  the  eagle  eye  of  Uluch  Ali.  Officers  and 
men  fell  on  their  knees.  Turned  their  eyes  to  the  consecrated 
banner,  floating  from  the  Real,  Borne  to  his  cabin.  But  the 
Venetians  gathered  courage  from  despair.  By  incredible  efforts 
beat  off  their  enemies.  Became  in  turn  the  assailants.  Carried 
one  vessel  after  another.  Safe  to  estimate  the  Turkish  loss  at 
24,000  slain  and  5,000  prisoners.  The  armada  annihilated.  Af- 
ter the  battle,  sky  began  to  be  overcast.  Storm  arising.  Swooped 
down.  Sunk  galleys.  Carried  off  the  great  Capitana  of  Malta. 
Don  John  sought  shelter  in  the  neighboring  port  of  Petala.  Put 
up  a  petition  like  their  commander's.  Received  absolution  from 
the  priests.  Rose  from  their  knees  with  new  strength.  The 
Capuchin  with  uplifted  crucifix  led  to  the  attack.  Christian 
galley-slaves  broke  their  fetters.  Joined  their  countrymen 
against  their  masters.  Overpowered,  and  threw  down  their 
arms.  Decks  loaded  with  the  dead  and  dying.  Beneath  them 
was  discovered  Ali  Pasha,  wounded,  but  not  mortally.  Of  the 
250  galleys,  not  more  than  40  or  50  escaped.  Proofs  of  Don 
John's  kindly  temper  experienced  even  by  the  enemy.  Among 
the  prisoners  were  two  sons  of  Ali  Pasha,  one  17,  the  other  13. 
Before  he  arrived  the  tempest  began  to  mutter.  One  cut  off  his 
head,  and  raised  it  on  a  pike.  Banner  of  the  crescent  pulled 
down,  and  that  of  the  cross  run  up.  Welcomed  with  a  shout  of 
victory.  Led  into  the  presence  of  Don  John,  they  fell  on  the 
deck  before  him.  Among  the  chief  conquests  were  1 2,000  Chris- 
tian captives  chained  to  the  oar,  who  with  tears  streaming  down 
their  faces  blessed  their  deliverers.  Santa  Cruz  saw  the  critical 
condition  of  Doria.  Dashed  into  the  midst.  Fell  like  a  thun- 
derbolt on  the  Algerine  galleys.  Allied  loss  comparatively 
small.  Less  than  8,000.  Darkness  was  on  the  water.  Siroco's 
vessel  was  sunk.  Extricated  from  the  water  to  perish  by  the 
sword.  He  raised  them  up,  and  affectionately  embraced  them. 
Treated  them  according  to  their  rank.  Barberigo,  lingering  in 
agony,  hearing  of  Siroco's  defeat  and  death,  exclaimed,  "  I  die 
contented."  Expired.  Darkness  rendered  more  visible  by  the 
blazing  wrecks.     Storm  raged  24  hours.     Beset   on  all  sides, 


The  Preparation  of  a  Framework,  73 

Uluch  Ali  abandoned  his  prizes.  Cut  loose  from  the  Capitana, 
Richest  apparel  given  them.  Table  served  with  delicacies. 
Courier  sent  to  Constantinople  to  assure  friends  of  their  safety. 
Threw  out  signals  for  retreat.  Stood  towards  the  north  with 
all  the  canvas  left  him.  Gave  chase.  Fleet  rode  safely  at  an- 
chor in  the  harbor  of  Petala.  Remained  there  three  days  longer. 
Hoped  to  intercept  him  at  a  rocky  headland,  jutting  far  out  into 
the  sea.  Succeeded  in  obtaining  their  liberation  from  the  pope. 
Elder  died  at  Naples  of  a  broken  heart.  Younger  sent  home 
with  three  attendants,  for  whom  he  had  an  especial  regard. 
Some  few  vessels  stranded.  But  with  40  or  50  he  doubled  the 
headland.  Stood  out  to  sea.  His  white  sails,  like  a  flock  of 
Arctic  fowl,  the  last  thing  visible. 


LESSON  27. 

THE   PREPARATION   OF  A   FRAMEWORK. 

In  the  preparation  of  a  theme,  you  have  seen  that  sev- 
eral things  must  be  done.  A  subject  must  be  chogen. 
Fartc;  fni-rpji^^cr  thf^  g.uhj^r>t-tTT^,^t^i-  of  the  theme  must 
be  found.  They  must  be  grouped.  They  must  be 
grouped  under  the  sub-topics  into  which  the  general 
topic,  or  subject  of  the  theme,  is  resolved.  They  must 
then  be  wrought  into  thoughts,  these  thoughts  must  be 
expressed  in  sentences,  these  sentences  framed  into 
paragraphs,  and  these  paragraphs  a|;ranged  upon  the 
page. 

In  every  step  of  this  work,  rhetoric  can  aid  the  pupil, 
biit  it  can  onl-^aid.  It  can  direct  the  pupil  to  the  choice 
of  a  subject  and  place  him  in  the  happiest  relation  with 
it ;  and  can  lead  him  on  in  such  wise  that  he  will  find 
the  most  and  the  best  matter  in  it,  will  think,  and 
express  his  thought  in  the  most  effective  form.     In  this 


74  Invention, 


sense,  and  this  only,  can  rhetoric  teach  one  invention,  or 
thinking,  and  the  expression  of  thought. 

A  Framework. — In  preparing  a  framework  there  are 
several  steps  to  be  taken.     We  note  these  in  their  order. 

I.  Sv.T.-F.nTTnKT  CSV  A  pT^gfRfJT — The  first  step  is,  of  course, 
the  selection  of  a  subject.  If  the  choice  is  left  to  you, 
find  one  which  you  can  handle,  one  which  has  been  fes- 
tering, so  to  speak,  in  your  mind,  one  that  is  attractive 
to  you,  and  will  start  you  off  on  many  lines  of  thought. 
A  general  subject,  like  War  or  Tea^  will  be  less  sugges- 
tive than  some  branch  or  phase  of  it,  as,  for  example, 
The  Weapons  used  in  War,  or  The  Preparation  of  Tea  for 
Market. 

II.  AfifiTTMyT.yvTION  OF  Material. — The  next  step  is  the 
accumulation  of  material.  In  this,  a  blank-book,  upon 
which  to  note  whatever  facts  or  thoughts  occur  to  you 
after  the  choice  of  a  subject  and  before  you  begin  to 
write,  will  be  found  useful,  if  not  indispensable.  If  the 
subject  is  one  upon  which  you  must  read  or  converse, 
do  so  ;  but  use  what  the  reading  or  the  conversation  sug- 
gests rather  than  what  you  have  read  or  heard.  Think, 
think,  and  always  put  the  thought  into  your  own  lan- 
guage. Remember  that  the  more  completely  the  com- 
position is  yours  in  thought  and  in  word,  the  greater  is 
the  good  its  construction  does  you  and  the  higher  the 
value  you  yourself  will  place  upon  it. 

III.  CiUS;STRUCl^)N. — The  third  step  is  the  construction, 
out  of  your  material,  of  the  framework,  or  skeleton,  of 
your  theme.  By  this  we  mean  the  finding  and  arranging 
of  the  leading  thoughts,  or  points,  or  heads,  which  you 
have  been  writing  as  the  special  topics  of  the  paragraphs. 
Upon  no  part  of  your  work  more  than  upon  this  will  the 
merit  of  your  composition  or  its  lack  of  merit  depend. 
Take  time,  and  take  thought  for  it. 


The  Preparation  of  a  Framework,         75 

1.  ^earch  ymir  material  for  the  leadins:  thoughts,  ^ 
points. — If  nothing  noted  down  seems  to  you,  as  it 
stands,  sufficiently  inclusive,  study  to  see  what  these  or 
those  jottings  point  to  as  broad  enough  to  bracket 
them.  Be  certain,  before  you  cease  this  work,  that  you 
have  found  all  the  general  thoughts  into  which,  as  it 
seems  to  you,  the  subject  should  be  resolved. 

2.  Study  these  points  with  care. — Let  no  point  disguised 
in  different  words  appear  t^ce.  let  no  two  points  cover 

.  the  same  ground  in  part.  Raise  nothing  to  the 
rank  of  a  topic  which  may  properly  stand  under  one 
already  fou]^[^.  Cast  out  any  point  that  on  further 
thought  seems  irrelevant.  Avoid  a  tedious  multiplica- 
tion of  points.  Study  to  see  what  ones  may  be  spared 
with  good  effect.  This  matter  of  co-ordination  and  sub- 
ordination requires  the  nicest  discrimination.  It  is  the 
point  in  which  essays,  sermons,  speeches — the  efforts  of 
adults — are  open  to  criticism. 

3.  Concentrate  attention  upon  the  arranjsrement  of  these 
joints. — There  are  many  illogical  orders  in  which  they 
might  be  arranged,  there  is  always  at  least  one  proper 
order  in  which  they  should  stand.  Find  it.  It  would, 
for  instance,  presuming,  as  we  did,  that  the  question  at 
issue  was  understood,  have  been  illogical  not  to  have 
begun  the  theme  of  Lesson  26  with  the  account  of  the 
forces  engaged  and  their  disposition  on  that  memorable 
occasion.  Nor  could  you  properly  have  delayed  till 
after  the  battle  what  took  place  before  it.  If  the 
fight  began  on  the  left,  that  must  be  spoken  of  before 
you  described  the  struggle  in  the  centre  or  that  on  the 
right.  The  losses  on  either  side  had  to  follow  the  battle, 
and  the  storm  both.  Don  John's  clemency  fitly  closed 
the  whole.     Perhaps  no    one  of  these   points   need    be 


'](^  Invention, 


exhausted  in  a  single  paragraph,  but  the  order  in  which 
tifiey  should  be  taken  up  is  fixed. 

In  every  kind  of  discourse,  the  question  of  order  is 
vital.  No  point  to  the  clear  understanding  of  which,  to 
feeling  the  full  force  of  which,  a  knowledge  of  some 
other  point  would  have  to  be  presumed  should  precede 
that  other.  And  this  simple  rule  one  must  regard 
whether  as  a  pupil  he  is  writing  a  composition,  as  a  law- 
yer he  is  making  out  a  brief,  as  a  preacher  he  is  plan- 
ning a  sermon,  or  as  a  statesman  he  is  preparing  a 
speech. 

So  necessary  is  a  fitting  framework  for  the  structure 
of  a  theme — a  skeleton  sustaining  and  giving  shape  to 
the  body — that  we  shall  require  further  work  upon  it 
here. 

Direction. — Prepare  according  to  this  model,  but  without  slavish 
imitation  of  it,  the  framework  of  a  theme  upon  each  of  these  subjects, 
marking  the  leading  co-ordinate  points  with  Roman  characters,  co- 
ordinate subdivisions  of  these  with  Arabic,  and  subdivisions  of  these 
with  small  letters: — 

Model. — The  Good  a  Debating  Society  does  its  Members. 

I.  The  good  it  does  them  in  preparing  for  ihe  debate. 

a.  In  analyzing  the  sub- 
ject. 

b.  \vi  selecting  the  strong- 
est points. 

c.  In  coining  thoughts 
to  establish  these 
points. 

2.  It  adds  to  their  knowledge  by  the  wide  reading  it  com- 
pels. 

3.  It  teaches  them  to  defend  the  truth  they  have  espoused. 

4.  It  teaches  toleration  by  showing  them  that  there  are 
unanswerable  arguments  on  either  side, 


I.  It  exacts  vigorous  thinking 


The  Preparation  of  a  Framework,  7  7 


!•  It  is  an  intense  stimulant 


IL  The   good    it    does   them    during  the  progress    of  the 
debate. 

a.  In  that  it  furnishes  op- 
position. 

b.  In     exciting    hope    of 
victory. 

c.  In  sharpening  wits  to 
detect  error. 

d.  In  compelling  a  vigor- 
ous defense. 

2.  It  gives  them  self-command  while  under  fire. 

3.  It  teaches  them  a  modest  estimate  of  their  abilities. 

4.  It  teaches  them  courtesy  to  opponents. 

5.  It  corrects  their  opinions,  and  widens  their  view. 

6.  It  gives  them  command  of  their  vocabulary. 

7.  It  is  a  rhetorical  and  logical  exercise  in  composition. 

8.  It  teaches  them  something  of  Parliamentary  practice. 

1.  What  the  Winds  do.     2.  October  Woods. 

The  teacher  should  exact  the  most  careful  attention  of 
his  pupils  to  the  co-ordination  and  subordination  of 
points,  requiring  them  to  use  the  Roman,  the  Arabic, 
and  the  literal  notations,  as  above.  Their  whole  work 
should  be  criticised  rigidly  by  the  teaching  of  this  Les- 
son. The  teacHer  should  allow  for  individuality  ;  should 
not  insist  that  their  analyses  must  conform  each  to  the 
others  and  all  to  his.  Out  of  all  the  points  presented 
let  him  prepare  one  framework  each  day  that  shall  be 
as  nearly  exhaustive  and  perfect  as  possible.  Let  him 
talk  with  his  pupils,  asking  and  giving  reasons  for  every 
step.  Let  him  insist  that  they  shall  carry  this  kind  of 
work  over  into  the  preparation  of  ordinary  composi- 
tions, or  themes.  If  the  pupils  need  more  drill  than 
these  Lessons  furnish,  the  teacher  can  easily  supply 
subjects  and  continue  the  exercise.  If  three  subjects 
^re  too  many  for  a  lesson^  let  him  assign  fewer, 


78  Invention. 


LESSON  28. 

ANALYSIS   OF   SUBJECTS. 

The  wisdom  of  treading  the  steps  taken  in  leading  up 
to  the  analysis  of  subjects  and  the  preparation  of  frame- 
works— the  finding  of  the  subject-matter  of  discourse — 
we  hope  is  by  this  time  apparent.  The  resolution  of  the 
subject  could  not  be  taught  without  thoroughly  ac- 
quainting the  pupil  with  the  nature  and  office  of  a  para- 
graph ;  the  paragraph  could  not  be  explained  without 
familiarizing  the  pupil  with  the  sentence  ;  and  the  sen- 
tence could  not  be  understood  by  him  without  his  seeing 
that  it  was  the  embodiment  of  thought.  And  so  we 
have  attempted  to  teach  what  thought  is  and  how  it  is 
formed  ;  how  the  sentence  expressing  it  may  grow  up 
from  two  or  three  words  to  forms  most  complex  and  in- 
tricate, with  words,  phrases,  and  clauses  in  myriad  com- 
binations, and  how  by  contraction,  expansion,  and  sub- 
stitution almost  any  sentence  may  be  transformed  ; 
how  sentences  may  combine  into  paragraphs,  and  why 
they  must ;  and  how  the  making  of  paragraphs  compels 
the  pupil  to  brood  over  his  subject  and  bring  to  light 
the  great  thoughts,  which,  fitly  joined,  form  the  frame  of 
the  structure  he  is  to  build. 

In  addition  to  what  was  said  in  the  Lesson  upon  the 
Preparation  of  a  Framework,  it  may  be  serviceable  to 
add  that  in  forming  frameworks  upon 

Narrative  or  Descriptive  Subjects,  real  or  fictitious,  the 
pupil  should  be  careful  to  select  only  the  salient,  the  rep- 
resentative, points.     These^  arranged    in   their   natural 


Analysis  of  Subjects,  79 

order,  carry  with  them  the  minor  points.  Multiplicity 
confuses.  The  outline  fully  and  clearly  presented,  the 
more  the  reader  or  hearer  can  easily  supply,  and  is  left 
to  supply,  the  better. 

Argumentative  Subjects. — Resolve  such  subjects  into 
all  possible  points,  and  then  use  great  discretion  in  se- 
lecting such  as  are  cardinal  ;  such  as,  if  fitly  developed, 
establish  beyond  question  the  conclusion  you  seek  to 
prove.  Here,  perhaps,  more  than  elsewhere,  the  matter 
of  arrangement  is  vital.  If,  for  example,  a  man  were 
accused  of  burning  his  neighbor's  house  and  were 
brought  to  trial,  all  evidence  and  the  arguments  based 
upon  it  going  to  show  that  he  was  near  the  building  at 
the  time  of  the  burning,  or  that  his  clothes  bore  marks 
of  his  having  done  the  deed,  would  have  little  weight 
with  the  jury  unless  preceded  by  proof  that  he  was  in- 
terested in  the  removal  of  the  building  or  that  he  hated 
his  neighbor,  and  that  his  character  was  such  that  he 
would  not  scruple  to  commit  the  crime  if  a  fit  opportu- 
nity offered.  All  circumstantial  proof  of  the  arson 
would  be  discounted,  if  not  set  aside,  by  the  ignorance 
of  the  jury  that  the  accused  had  any  motive  to  commit 
the  deed,  and  was  without  principle  to  restrain  him. 
What  Whately  calls  arguments  from  cause  to  effect^  ar- 
guments accounting  for  anything,  assigning  the  cause  of 
it,  should  precede  circumstantial  proof,  arguments  of 
sign^  arguments  from  effect  to  condition. 

Direction. — Prepare  the  framework  of  a  theme  on  each  of  these 
subjects: — 

1.  What  should  we  Read  for?    2.  Cloud  Scenery.     3. 
The  Story  of  a  Pebble, 


8o  Invention. 


LESSON  29. 

ANALYSIS   OF   SUBJECTS. 

Direction. — Prepare  the  framework  of  a  theme  on  each  of  these 
subjects: — 

1.  The  Effects  of  Clearing  away  the  Forests.     2.  The 
Battle  of  Bunker  Hill.     3.  Travel  by  Rail  and  by  Steamer. 


LESSON  30. 

ANALYSIS   OF   SUBJECTS. 

Direction. — Prepare  the  framework  of  a  theme  on  each  of  these 
subjects: — 

1.  A  Murdered  B.    2.  Ancient  and  Modern  Warfare  Com- 
pared.   3.  Nature's  Sounds. 


o 

H 

> 


A   SCHEME   FOR   REVIEW. 

Definition  and  Vindication  of  Rhetoric  (Lesson  i). 
Definition  of  Invention  and  of  Thought  (Lesson  2). 
Simple  Sentence  with  Simple,  Compound,  and  Complex 

Modifiers  (Lessons  2-4,  and  1 1). 
Complex  Sentence  with  the  Ad-  1 

jective    Clause   (Lessons  5,   l^'  Restrictive. 

9,  and  II).  I   2-  Unrestrictive. 


A  Scheme  for  Review. 


8i 


Complex  Sentence  with  the  Ad- 
verb Clause  (Lessons  6,  7, 
9,  and  1 1). 


Complex  Sentence  with  the 
Noun  Clause  (Lessons  8,  9, 
and  11). 


1.  Time. 

2.  Place. 

3.  Degree. 

4.  Manner. 

5.  Cause. 

6.  Reason. 

7.  Condition. 

8.  Purpose. 

9.  Concession. 

1.  Subject. 

2.  Object  Complement, 

3.  Attribute  Comp. 

4.  Explan.  Modifier. 

5.  Principal  Term  of 
Prep.  Phrase. 

1.  Clauses  in  the  Same 
Line  of  Thought. 

2.  Clauses  Adversative. 

3.  One  Expressing  a 
Consequence  of  the 
other. 

4.  One  Expressing  an 
Inference  from  the 
other. 

Sentences  with  Compound  and  Complex  Clauses  (Lessons 
12  and  13). 

Substitution  and  Contraction  (Lessons  14-17). 

Expansion  and  Substitution  (Lessons  18-20). 

Synthesis  of  Sentences  into  Paragraphs  (Lessons  21-23). 

Synthesis  of  Sentences  into  Paragraphs  and  of  Paragraphs 
into  a  Theme  (Lessons  24-26). 

Preparation  of  a  Framework  (Lesson  27). 

Analysis  of  Narrative,  Descriptive,  Fictitious,  and  Argu- 
mentative Subjects  (Lessons  27-30). 

Capital  Letters  and  Punctuation  (Lessons  2-6,  8-10,  12 
and  13). 


Compound    Sentence  (Lessons 
10  and  ii\ 


QUALITIES    OF   STYLE. 


LESSON  31. 

PERSPICUITY. 

Thus  far  we  have  been  considering'  the  thought,  the 
subject-matter  of  discourse,  one  of  the  two  things  with 
which  rhetoric  is  concerned.  In  doing  this  we  have 
been  forced  to  deal  with  the  sentence  and  the  paragraph, 
but  we  have  dealt  with  them  only  as  the  necessary  forms 
in  which  thought  must  be  expressed.  You  have  been 
made  familiar  with  the  various  kinds  of  sentences,  have 
learned  to  construct  them  in  all  their  varieties  and  to  com- 
bine them  into  paragraphs.  But  you  have  learned  noth- 
ing of  the  qualities  which  should  belong  to  them,  which 
everything  written  or  spoken  should  have  to  make  it  the 
happy  instrument  of  expression,  and  so  you  have  learned 
nothing  of  style  proper.  To  this  great  department  of 
rhetoric  we  have  now  come. 

Style. — By  style  we  mean  the  manner  in  which  the 

thought  is  expre^^^H  irj  ^^^j^H^        Kvprv  nne  hf\<^  hi5s  man- 

ner  of  expressing  thought,  just  as  he  has  a  cast  of  feat- 
ures, qualities  of  voice,  and  a  carriage  of  body,  peculiar 
to  himself. 

I^to  every  one's  style,  at  least  three  elements  should 
enter  and  determine  it. 

I.  Ttt-f.  XflW — J^^^  ^s  ^  piece  expressing  various  pas- 
sions demands  of  the  reader  a  varying  pitch  and  stress, 
a  varying  rate  of  movement,  and  different  tones  of  voice, 


84  Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity. 

so  various  topics  require  of  the  writer  various  styles — 
the  topic  entering  into  the  style  and  helping  to  deter- 
mine it.  One  writing  on  different  subjects  will  not, 
then,  write  alike,  if  he  writes  naturally.  "  The  perfectly 
endowed  man  will  unconsciously  write  in  all  styles," 
says  Herbert  Spencer. 

II.  The  Writer's  Individuality.— Room  for  the  man 
himself  is  always  to  be  found  in  his  style.  His  temper- 
ament, tastes,  attainments,  culture — everything  mental 
that  distinguishes  him  as  an  individual — may  be  ex- 
pressed in  his  use  of  imagery,  his  choice  of  words  and 
his  marshalling  and  articulation  of  them  in  the  sentence,  in 
the  cast  of  his  paragraphs — in  all  that  goes  to  the  mak- 
ing of  style.  It  is  not  the  business  of  rhetoric  to  rob 
one's  style  of  this  element.  It  should  only  wear  down 
the  sharp  angles  and  subdue  the  writer's  peculiarities, 
so  that  his  style  shall  be  free  from  mannerisms — every- 
thing offensively  characteristic  of  him.  And  this  is  done 
by  the  element  of 

III.  Authority. — The  principles  which  eminent  writ- 
ers have  consciously  or  unconsciously  observed  fur- 
nish rhetoric  the  lessons  it  is  to  teach,  and  point  out  to 
the  pupil  the  paths  he  may  follow.  What  they  have 
done  is  permissible  to  him,  what  they  have  found  they 
could  not  safely  do  is  unlawful.     And  this  element  enters 

largely  into  all  style  that  becomes  classic,  putting  a  curb 
upon  the  author's  eccentricities,  and  becoming  a  spur  to 
every  effort  made  for  the  perfecting  of  his  style. 

The  first  cardinal  quality  of  style  is 

Perspicuity.— Persmmiitv  k  Hktinrtnpc^c|  r^f  Pxprp^.^nn 
transparency.     Our  thought  should  be  seen  through  our 
words,  as  are  twigs  through  their  coating  of  ice  after  a 
cold  rain  in  winter.    What  the  air  washed  clean  of  smoke 
and  vapor  and  dust  is  to  the  trees  and  the  rocks  of  dis- 


Author  s  Mastery  of  his  Subject.  85 

tant  hills,  bringing  them  near  and  into  sharp  distinct- 
ness, that  should  our  language  be  to  the  thoughts  it 
contains.  Since  we  write  to  communicate  something, 
our  purpose  is  defeated  if  we  are  not  clear,  we  might 
better  have  spared  our  poor  labor.  It  is  a  duty  which 
every  one  owes  the  reader  or  hearer  to  speak  not  simply 
so  that  he  can  be  understood  but  so  that  he  cannot  fail 
of  being  understood.  One  has  no  more  right  to  take 
another's  time  and  energy  in  a  hunt  for  the  meaning 
than  he  has  to  take  his  fruit  or  his  wares  without  com- 
pensation. To  be  perspicuous,  then,  is  only  to  be 
honest. 

Perspicuity  is  to  other  qualities  of  speech  what  light 
is  to  colors — that  by  which  they  exist  and  are  seen. 
Style  that  lacks  it  has  few  excellencies  that  are  apparent, 
as  the  discourse  has  little  thought  that  is  obvious. 

A  Relative  ftTJALITY.— But  it  ought  to  be  said  that 
perspicuity  is  a  relative  quality.  That  is,  what  would 
be  clear  to  one  reader  or  hearer  might  not  be  to  another 
of  fewer  years  or  less  culture.  Style  perfectly  plain  to 
an  audience  of  scholars  might  be  obscure  to  men  and 
women  less  intelligent,  or  to  children,  just  as  food  easily 
digested  by  a  man  in  vigorous  health  might  be  indiges- 
tible to  an  invalid.  In  judging  the  style  of  any  produc- 
tion, it  is  but  fair  to  take  into  account  the  ability  of 
those  for  whom  it  is  intended. 

Perspicuity  depends 

I.  UyON  THE  AUTHOB'S  MASTERY  OF  HIS  SUBJMp:. — Much 
mistiness  of  expression  is  only  "the  haze  which  partly 
hides  the  subject  from  the  writer.  The  subject  is  seen 
by  him  but  only  in  the  gray  dawn,  it  does  not  stand  re- 
vealed in  noon-day  light.  Remember  that  you  cannot 
convey  to  others  more  than  you  thoroughly  know,  or 
make  your  thought  clearer  to  them  than  it  is  to  yourself. 


86  Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity. 

It  will  be  a  triumph  if  you  can  make  them  see  what  you 
see  and  see  it  as  clearly.  The  work  of  accumulating 
material  and  of  preparing  frameworks,  insisted  on  as 
preliminary  to  the  writing,  will  be  of  great  service  here. 
It  will  supply  you  with  the  knowledge  needed,  and  will 
distribute  the  facts,  dropping  each  item  into  its  place 
and  so  bringing  order  out  of  confusion.  Seeing  every- 
thing you  need,  and  seeing  it  where  it  belongs,  your  task 
of  making  it  apparent  to  others  should  be  compara- 
tively easy. 
II.  Upon  his  Use  of  Words. — This  subject,  which  will 

run  through  many  i^essons7must  be  subdivided. 

1.  Use  Simple  Words. — The  simplest  words  in  the  En- 
glish language  are  those  which  belong  to  the  mother- 
element  of  it — the  Anglo-Saxon.  These  were  never  so 
highly  compounded  as  were  the  Latin  and  Greek,  and 
so  are  simpler  ;  since  each  word  in  a  compound  enters 
its  meaning  into  that  of  the  whole.  They  were  never  so 
highly  inflected  as  were  the  Latin  and  Greek,  and  nearly 
all  of  the  few  inflections  they  once  possessed  fell  off 
during  the  three  centuries  after  the  Norman  Conquest ; 
and  so  these  words  are  the  shortest  in  the  language,  and 
for  that  reason  the  simplest.  Besides,  the  Anglo-Saxon 
were  the  original  w^ords  in  our  language,  used  to  name 
the  things  known  to  our  ancestors,  and  to  denote  the 
qualities,  acts,  states,  and  relations  of  these  things. 
They  are  thus  our  household  words,  and  are  better  un- 
derstood Jby  all,  even  by  the  educated.  Prefer  them 
where  you  must  express  yourself  with  great  simplicity. 

Direction. — Find  Anglo-Saxon  expressions,  each  a  single  word, 
where  it  is  possible,  for  these  good  words  of  Latin  and  Greek  origin, 
and  use  them  in  sentences  of  your  own  : — 

Residence,  aggravate,  instruct,  invalidate,  circumspect,   dis- 


Use  of  Words — Simple  Words,  87 

parage,  atmosphere,  occult,  isothermal,  deposed,  extinguish, 
idiosyncrasies,  termination,  reside,  accomplish,  obliterate, 
ethereal,  pabulum,  aesthetic,  supersede,  interpolate,  anomaly, 
tortuous,  philanthropic,  subordinate,  simultaneous,  deplorable, 
elimination,  circumlocution. 


LESSON  32. 

USE    OF  WORDS — SIMPLE  WORDS. 

Direction. — Rewrite  this  paragraph  with  great  care,  finding,  where 
it  is  possible,  Anglo-Saxon  words  for  those  italicized: — 

When  an  mtelligent  foreigner  commences  the  study  of  English, 
he  finds  ^v^ry  page  sprinkled  with  words  -who^^  for7n  unequivo- 
cally betrays  a  Greek  or  Latin  origin,  and  he  observes  that  these 
terins  are  words  belonging  to  the  dialect  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions, of  theological  discussion,  of  criticism,  of  elegant  art,  of 
moral  and  intellectual  philosophy,  of  abstract  science,  and  of  the 
various  branches  of  natural  knowledge.  He  discovers  that  the 
words  which  he  recognizes  as  Greek  and  Latin  and  French  have 
dropped  those  inflections  which  in  their  fiative  use  were  indis^ 
pensable  to  their  intelligibility  and  grammatical  significance  ; 
that  the  mutual  relations  of  vocables  and  the  sense  of  the  English 
period  are  much  more  often  deterinined  by  the  position  of  the 
words  than  by  their  form,  and  in  short  that  the  sentence  is  built 
up  upon  structural prijtciples  wholly  alieft  to  those  of  the  classi- 
cal languages,  and  compacted  and  held  together  by  a  class  of 
words  either  unknown  or  very  much  less  used  in  those  tongues. 
He  finds  that  very  many  of  the  native  monosyllables  are  mere  de- 
terininatives,  particles,  auxiliaries,  and  relatives ;  and  he  can 
hardly  fail  to  infer  that  all  the  intellectual  part  of  our  speech, 
all  that  concerns  our  highest  spiritual  and  tonporal  interests  is 
of  alien  birth,  and  that  only  the  merest  machinery  of  grammar 
has  been  derived  from  a  native  source.  Further  study  would 
teach  him  that  he  had  overrated  the  importa^ice  and  relative 


88  Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity, 

amount  of  the  foreign  ingredients  ;  that  many  of  our  seemingly 
insignificant  and  barbarous  consonantal  monosyllables  are  preg- 
nant with  the  mightiest  thoughts  and  alive  with  the  deepest 
feeling  ;  that  the  language  of  the  purposes  and  the  affections,  of 
the  will  and  of  the  heart,  is  genuine  English  born  ;  that  the  dia- 
lect of  the  market  and  the  fireside  is  Anglo-Saxon ;  that  the  vo- 
cabulary of  the  most  impressive  and  effective  pulpit  orators  has 
been  almost  wholly  drawn  from  the  same  pure  source  ;  that  the 
advocate  who  would  convince  the  technical  judge  or  dazzle  and 
confuse  the  jury  speaks  Latin;  while  he  who  would  touch  the 
better  sensibilities  of  his  audience  or  rouse  the  multitude  to  vig- 
orous action  chooses  his  words  from  the  native  speech  of  our 
ancient  fatherland ;  that  the  domestic  tongue  is  the  language  of 
passion  and  persuasion,  XhQ  foreign,  of  authority  or  rhetoric  and 
debate ;  that  we  may  not  only  frame  single  sentences  but  speak 
for  hours  without  employing  a  single  imported  word  ;  and  finally 
that  we  possess  the  entire  volume  of  revelation  in  the  truest, 
clearest,  aptest  form  in  which  human  ingenuity  has  made  it  ac- 
cessible to  modern  man,  and  yet  with  a  vocabulary  wherein,  saving 
proper  names  and  ter?ns  not  in  their  nature  translatable,  scarce 
seven  in  the  hundred  are  derived  from  any  foreign  source. 

This  eloquent  passage  from  George  P.  Marsh  points 
out  the  service  to  w^hich  the  native  and  to  which  the  im- 
ported words  in  our  language  are  put,  and  at  the  same 
time  illustrates  it.  It  will  bear  close  study.  Few 
writers,  however,  draw  so  largely  upon  the  words  of 
foreign  origin  as  he  has  done  here. 


Use  of  Words — Propriety  and  Precision,      89 


LESSON   33. 

USE   OF    WORDS — DIFFICULT    WORDS,    PROPRIETY 
AND    PRECISION. 

The  thought  of  a  sentence  may  be  largely  or  even 
wholly  obscured  by  the  excessive  use  of  long  and  alien 
words. 

Direction. — Study  these  sentences  till  you  understand  them,  and 
then  rewrite  them  in  simple  language: — 

I.  Diminutive  and  defective  slave,  reach  my  corps-coverture 
immediately.  'Tis  my  complacency  that  vest  to  have  to  en- 
sconce my  person  from  frigidity.  2.  Bayard  Taylor  represented 
the  later  tendencies  toward  the  application  of  a  cosmopolitan 
culture  to  American  literature.  3.  The  aggregation  of  bioplas- 
tic  germs  evidences  an  irresistible  tendency  to  correlate  the 
molecules  in  inverse  ratio  to  the  capillary  process  of  differentia- 
tion. 4.  An,  or  a,  used  in  a  general  sense  to  denote  an  indi- 
vidual member  of  a  class  or  species  or  genus  in  all  other  respects 
indeterminate,  is  called  an  indefinite  article.  5.  He  felt  the 
full  force  of  that  sublunary  equipoise  that  seemed  evermore  to 
hang  suspended  over  the  attainment  of  long-sought  and  uncom- 
mon felicity.  6.  The  last  of  men  was  Dr.  Johnson  to  have  abet- 
ted squandering  the  delicacy  of  integrity  by  multiplying  the  la- 
bors of  talents.  7.  He  was  assaulted  during  his  precipitated 
return  by  the  rudest  fierceness  of  wintry  elemental  strife, 
through  which  with  bad  accommodations  and  innumerable  ac- 
cidents he  became  a  prey  to  the  merciless  pangs  of  the  acutest 
spasmodic  rheumatism.  8.  Language,  or  speech,  is  the  utter- 
ance of  articulate  sounds  rendered  significant  by  usage  for  the 
expression  and  coranjunication  of  thoughts — articulate  sounds 


QO  Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity, 

being  those  which  are  formed  by  the  opening  and  closing  of 
the  organs.  The  closing  or  approximation  of  the  organs  is  an 
articulation,  or  jointing. 

2.  Use  Words  with  Propbiety  and  with  Pbej^sion.— 

Use  words  with  the  meanings  they  have  in  good  authors, 
and  use  such  as  express  precisely  your  ideas — the  sen- 
tence fitting  the  thought  perfectly  and  conveying  it  ex- 
actly. You  are  liable  to  choose  the  wrong  word  only  when 
two  or  three  words  offer  themselves  which  have  some 
meaning  in  common,  and  which  differ  from  each  other 
only  in  particulars.  Such  words,  coming  sometimes  all 
from  the  Norman -French,  the  Latin,  or  the  Greek,  or 
the  Anglo-Saxon,  but  oftener  one  from  the  Anglo-Saxon 
and  another  from  one  of  these  foreign  elements,  we  call 
synonyms.  Synonyms  constantly  diverge  from  each  other 
in  signification,  that  is,  the  ground  of  meaning  held 
in  common  by  the  members  of  a  pair  or  triplet  is 
gradually  diminishing,  while  that  held  exclusively  by 
each  is  constantly  increasing.  No  better  exercise  to 
teach  a  careful  and  discriminating  use  of  words  can  be 
devised  than  practice  in  handling  synonyms. 

Direction. — Give  (i)  the  sources  of  the  synonyms  grouped  below, 
if  you  can;  (2)  the  meaning  which  they  have  in  common;  (3)  the  mean- 
ing which  belongs  to  each  separately;  and  (4)  write  sentences,  using  each 
word  correctly: — 

Clear  and  distinct;  in  and  into;  healthy  and  healthful ;  sea 
and  ocean ;  subtle  and  subtile ;  artist  and  artisan  ;  lie  and  lay 
and  their  preterits ;  sit  and  set  and  their  preterits ;  shall  and  will 
and  their  preterits  ;  lodgings  and  apartments  ;  bring  and  fetch ; 
asylum  and  refuge ;  two  and  couple ;  applause  and  praise ;  ances- 
tors and  forefathers ;  few  and  little  ;  fewer  and  less  ;  many  and 
much  ;  lease  and  hire ;  propose  and  purpose. 


Use  of  Words — Propriety  and  Precision.     9 1 


LESSON  34. 

USE   OF  WORDS — PROPRIETY   AND    PRECISION. 

Direction. — Do  with  these  synonyms  as  directed  with  those  in 
Lesson  33: — 

On  and  upon ;  defend  and  protect ;  womanly  and  womanish  ; 
this  and  that  and  their  plurals  ;  the  one  and  the  other;  exceed 
and  excel ;  hope  and  expect ;  fault  and  defect ;  who  and  which ; 
which  and  that ;  learn  and  teach  ;  haste  and  hurry  ;  news  and 
tidings  ;  high  and  tall ;  thankful  and  grateful ;  inability  and  disa- 
bility ;  bonds  and  fetters  ;  abdicate  and  desert ;  instruction  and 
education  ;  apprehend  and  comprehend ;  live  and  dwell ;  insur- 
gent and  rebel ;  character  and  reputation ;  occasion  and  oppor- 
tunity ;  keep  and  preserve ;  right  and  privilege ;  sick  and  ill ; 
hinder  and  prevent*  like  and  love;  mind  and  intellect;  apt  and 
liable ;  sensuous  and  sensual ;  relations  and  relatives. 


LESSON  35. 

USE   OF  WORDS — PROPRIETY  AND   PRECISION. 

Direction. — Do  v/ith  these  synonyms  as  directed  with  those  in 
Lesson  33: — 

Learning  and  wisdom ;  proud  and  vain ;  stout  and  strong ; 
illegible  and  unreadable ;  untruth  and  lie ;  bough,  branch,  and 
twig ;  pile  and  heap ;  sex  and  gender ;  gaze  and  stare ;  faculty 
and  capacity ;  deist  and  atheist ;  bleach,  blanch,  and  whiten ; 
certain  and  sure ;  safe  and  secure ;  raise  and  rise  y  allude  and 


92  Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity, 

mention;  feminine  and  effeminate;  boyish  and  puerile  ;  genu- 
ine and  authentic ;  fancy  and  imagination  ;  pity  and  sympathy ;' 
pretty,  handsome,  and  beautiful ;  right  and  just ;  jealousy  and 
envy ;  noted  and  notorious ;  sin,  vice,  and  crime ;  religious  and 
pious  ;  stay  and  remain ;  warm  and  hot ;  answer  and  reply ;  bid 
and  order;  custom  and  habit;  emigrant  and  immigrant. 


LESSON  36. 

USE   OF  WORDS — PROPRIETY   AND    PRECISION. 

Direction. — Do  with  these  synonyms  as  directed  with  those  in  Les- 
son 33: — 

Brutal  and  brutish ;  brute  and  beast ;  price,  cost,  worth,  and 
value  ;  peaceful  and  peaceable ;  artery  and  vein ;  sweat  and  per- 
spiration ;  flock  and  herd  ;  interfere  and  interpose ;  trustworthy 
and  reliable ;  enthusiasm  and  fanaticism  ;  surprised  and  aston- 
ished ;  laconic  and  concise ;  benevolence  and  beneficence ;  leave, 
quit,  and  relinquish ;  tame  and  gentle ;  enough  and  sufficient ; 
doubt,  uncertainty,  and  suspense ;  duty  and  obligation ;  have 
and  possess ;  excuse  and  apology ;  lovely  and  amiable  ;  flexible 
and  pliable ;  ductile  and  malleable ;  blaze  and  flame  ;  awake  and 
waken ;  soon,  quickly,  and  speedily ;  cry  and  weep ;  vibrate  and 
oscillate ;  tolerate  and  permit ;  temperance  and  abstinence  ;  hu- 
man and  humane ;  lack,  want,  and  need ;  exile  and  banish. 

Pupils  should  be  held  to  this  exercise  till  they  have 
become  critical  in  distinguishing  between  synonyms, 
and  habitually  careful  in  their  use.  It  should  be  insist- 
ed that  this  care  extend  to  all  their  recitations  and 
exercises.  The  reactive  effect  of  precision  in  the  use  of 
words  will  be  seen  in  more  exact  and  distinct  thinking. 
Eberhard  asks,  "  Who  can  transfer  his  thoughts  with  en- 
tire exactness  of  contour  and  significancy  of  accessory 
ide4§  whQ  dpes  not  form  them  definitely  V 


Use  of  Words — Personal  Pronouns,         93 


LESSON  37. 

USE   OF  WORDS — PERSONAL   PRONOUNS. 

3.  IJsE  Personal  Pronouns  with  C^^e. — Much  obscu- 
rity arises  from  the  careless  use  of  he^  she^  and  //,  in  their 
several  cases  and  numbers.  It  is  impossible  to  tell 
which  of  many  nouns  the  writer  intends  to  be  the  ante- 
cedent— the  word  for  which  the  pronoun  stands— ,and  so 
it  is  impossible  to  know  certainly  what  the  writer's  mean- 
ing is.  Here  arises  that  kind  of  obscurity  which  we  call 
ambiguity.  It  is  not  that  you  cannot  extract  a  meaning 
from  the  sentence,  but  that  you  can  extract  ma^iy  mean- 
ings, and  are  in  doubt  which  the  author  wishes  you  to 
take. 

If  this  ambiguity  occurs,  as  it  often  does,  in  indirect 
quotation,  it  may  be  remedied  by  quoting  the  passage 
directly.  In  other  cases  avoid  the  pronoun  by  using  the 
noun  for  which  it  stands  ;  change  the  form  of  the  sen- 
tence, if  need  be,  breaking  it  into  parts  and  making  each 
part  a  sentence. 

Direction. — Study  these  sentences  to  see  how  many  and  what 
meanings  each  might  have,  select  that  which  you  suppose  the  author 
intended,  and  recast  so  as  to  express  that  clearly: — 

I.  Charles  the  First's  duplicity  was  revealed  to  Cromwell  by 
a  letter  of  his  to  his  wife  which  fell  into  his  hands.  2.  A  sent 
the  man  to  his  neighbor,  and  he  lent  him  the  money  he  desired. 
3.  John  asked  his  cousin  to  bring  his  hat,  as  he  was  going  on  an 
errand  for  his  mother.  4.  The  servant  promised  her  mistress 
that  she  would  pay  her  debt.  5.  The  lion  had  a  struggle  with  a 
man,and  he  killed  him.    6.  The  earth  seemed  to  be  asking  the 


94  Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity, 

moon  if  it  thought  that  its  neighbor,  the  sun,  supposed  that  it 
needed  its  Hght.  7.  When  David  came  into  the  presence  of 
Saul,  he  threw  a  javelin  at  him.  8.  The  girls  asked  the  boys 
whether  the  books  which  they  had  in  their  hands  were  those 
they  had  seen  in  their  desks.  9.  Johnson  went  to  Goldsmith, 
and  found  that  his  landlady  had  arrested  him  for  debt,  at  which 
he  was  very  angry.  10.  They  were  persons  of  moderate  intel- 
lects even  before  they  were  impaired  by  their  passions. 

Direction. — Bring  in  as  many  sentences  ambiguous   through  the 
careless  use  of  personal  pronouns,  and  free  them  from  their  ambiguity. 


LESSON  38. 

use  of  words — obsolete  words,  foreign 
words,  and  words  newly  coined. 

4.  Avoid  Words  and  Constructions  that  have  no 

GOOD  Footing  in  the  Language. — You  learned  in  the  in- 
troductory Lesson  that  usage  is  our  authority  in  rhet- 
oric. In  nothing  is  usage  less  open  to  question  than  in 
the  department  of  words — in  diction.  Long  ago  the 
rhetorician  Campbell  said  that  use  respecting  words 
should  be  (i)  reputable  use — that  of  the  majority  of  the 
best  writers  and  speakers,  as  opposed  to  that  of  the  un- 
cultivated ;  (2)  national  use,  as  opposed  to  provincial  and 
foreign  ;  and  (3)  present  use,  as  opposed  to  obsolete  and 
ephemeral.  Rhetoricians  since  Campbell's  day  have  ac- 
cepted the  principle,  as  explained  by  him,  and  in  turn 
have  inculcated  it. 

Campbell's  Canons. — But  sometimes  good  usage  is  so 
divided  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  which  of  two  words 


Use  of  Words — Campbeirs  Canons.         95 

or  phrases  is  supported  by  the  best  authority.  To  guide 
the  pupil  to  a  choice  in  such  cases  Campbell  laid  down 
five  simple  precepts,  or  canons,  the  substance  of  which 
we  here  give  : — 

1.  Choose  the  word  or  phrase  which  has  but  one  use 
or  signification  rather  than  that  which  has  two  or  more. 
Take,  as  your  adjective,  extemporary  in  preference  to  ex- 
tempore^ since  this  is  used  as  an  adverb  also  ;  and  use  ate 
and  eaten  for  the  preterit  and  participle  instead  of  eat^  be- 
cause this  is  a  form  in  the  present. 

2.  Have  regard,  in  your  choice,  to  the  analogy  of  the 
language.  Use  conteinporary  and  not  cotemporary,  since 
usually  the  noi  con  is  retained  before  a  consonant,  and  is 
dropped  before  a  vowel. 

3.  Prefer  that  which  is  most  agreeable  to  the  ear  ;  as, 
ingenuity  to  ingeniousness. 

4.  Prefer  the  simpler  expression;  as,  approve  to  approve 
of,  subtract  to  substract. 

5.  When  the  other  canons  fail  to  settle  the  doubt,  pre- 
fer that  expression  most  conformable  to  ancient  usage  ; 
as,  jail  2ind  Jailer  instead  of  gaol  and  gaoler. 

The  pupil  will  not  need  to  resort  often  to  these  canons. 
Seldom  can  it  be  maintained  that  usage  is  equally  di- 
vided respecting  any  two  expressions  ;  and,  when  it  is 
so  divided,  neither  can  be  called  wrong.  We  do  not  give 
these  canons  supposing  that  they  will  be  of  great  assist- 
ance to  the  pupil  in  his  work. 

Returning  to  the  rule  that  good  use  is  reputable,  na- 
tional, and  present,  we  say  that  perspicuity  interdicts 
the  use  of  all  vulgar,  provincial,  foreign,  obsolete,  newly 
coined,  or  ephemeral  words  and  phrases,  because,  what- 
ever they  have  been  or  may  hereafter  be,  they  are  not 
now  English,  and  one  cannot  presume  that  they  would 
be  understood  by  the  English  reader.     Purity,  too,  puts 


96  Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity, 

them  under  ban,  because  they  would,  degrade  style  by 
tainting  the  language  used. 

This  prohibition  is  not,  in  some  of  its  specifications,  to 
be  taken  absolutely.  Words  and  phrases  from  the  Latin 
and  even  from  the  Greek,  from  the  French,  Italian,  and 
other  modern  languages, expressing  shades  of  meaning  for 
which  no  exact  equivalents  can  be  found  in  English,  are 
sometimes  seen  on  the  pages  of  our  best  authors.  Often 
they  seem  to  be  needed,  but  it  would  hardly  be  un- 
charitable to  charge  them,  at  times,  to  affectation.  It 
not  unfrequently  happens,  too,  that  new  words  are  coin- 
ed, and  that  old  words  wake  up  from  what  Marsh  calls 
a  long  Rip  Van  Winkle  sleep,  and  begin  service  anew. 
The  subjects  to  the  discussion  of  which  they  are  needful 
having  ceased  to  engross  attention,  the  words  become 
obsolescent  and  finally  obsolete,  to  be  revived,  however, 
whenever  the  topic  revives. 

But  the  rule,  not  strictly  observed  by  writers  of  note, 
is  absolutely  binding  upon  the  inexperienced.  "  Be  not 
the  first,"  says  Pope,  ''  by  whom  the  new  are  tried,  nor 
yet  the  last  to  lay  the  old  aside."  Heed  this  advice  in 
your  choice  and  use  of  words. 

A  barbarism  is  an  expression  which  violates  the  rule 
that  in  language  good  use  is  reputable,  national,  and 
present. 

Direction. — Form  sentences,  where  you  can,  containing  good  En- 
glish equivalents  for  these  expressions: — 

I.  That  is  a  sine  qua  non.  2.  He  is  of  the  ilite.  3.  He 
pitches  right  into  the  matter.  4.  Several  things  if  not  7nore 
must  be  done.  5.  The  ne  plus  ultra  has  been  reached,  6.  It 
went  off  with  dclat.  7.  He  is  a  connoisseur  in  art.  8.  Ameri- 
cans are  deficient  \nX\\^  petite  morale,  9.  A  la  Paris.  10.  He  is 
troubled  with  ennui,  ii.  She  made  her  debut  last  evening.  12. 
It  was  conime  ilfaut.     13.  Horace  Walpole  was  a  dillettante  in 


Use  of  Words — Barbarisms  and  Solecisms,  97 

literature.  14.  Ccster is  paribus,  the  Saxon  words  are  best.  15. 
Juventus,  the  hero,  is  bent  on  going  it  while  he  is  young.  16, 
The  hero  talks  fast,  like  the  others,  only  more  so,  17.  This  was 
said  sub  rosa.  18.  Uncle  Wendell  was  up  on  his  ear.  19.  He 
gave  hijnself  away.  20.  He  looked  down  in  the  mouth.  21. 
One  might  see  with  a  coup  deceit  that  he  belonged  to  the  beau 
monde.  22.  I  don't  pan  out  on  the  prophets.  23.  A  house  on 
Remsen  St.  was  burglarized  last  night.  24.  Not  by  a  long  shot. 
2^.  All  hope  soured  on  me.  26.  That  is  too  thin.  27.  He  at- 
tempted to  bulldoze  the  opposition.  28.  This  is  his  7nagnu7n 
opus.     29.  He  made  a  faux  pas. 

Direction. — Bring  into  the  class  as  many  such  expressions,  and 
give  good  English  equivalents  for  them. 

We  must,  in  rhetoric,  presume  that  the  pupil  is  a 
grammarian,  and  writes  sentences  whose  syntax  passes 
muster.  But  any  constructions  not  authorized  by  good 
usage  sin  against  perspicuity  as  well,  since  they  are  an 
offence  to  the  educated  and  distract  their  attention  from 
the  thought.  A  word  or  two  upon  grammar  may  not  be 
out  of  place  here. 

A  solecism  is  a  construction  at  war  with  the  grammar 
of  the  language.  Solecisms  can  be  found  occasionally  on 
the  pages  of  even  our  best  writers.  They  are  slips  re- 
sulting from  carelessness,  but  are  not  on  that  account 
venial.  They  consist  mainly  in  the  use  of  the  wrong 
modes,  tenses,  and  numbers  of  verbs,  the  wrong  numbers, 
genders,  and  cases  of  pronouns,  and  in  the  use  of  adjec- 
tives for  adverbs  and  of  adverbs  for  adjectives.  Other 
errors  that  might  be  set  down  as  grammatical,  but  which 
belong  more  properly  to  rhetoric,  may  be  found  in  the 
next  two  Lessons. 

Direction. — Bring  in  full  illustrations  of  the  errors  indicated  above, 
and  correct  them. 


98  Qualzlzes  of  Style — Perspicuity, 


LESSON  39. 

use   of  words — tautology,  verbosity,  and    re- 
dundancy. 

5.  Avoid  Tautology,  Verbosity,  and  Redundancy.— 

Words  that  have  no  exclusive  function  in  the  presenta- 
tion of  the  thought  overload  the  sentence,  and  bury  the 
thought  beneath  their  rubbish.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  phrases  and  clauses  that  surround  the  leading  thought 
with  qualifying  circumstances  not  essential  to  our  under- 
standing of  it,  which  distract  our  attention  from  it  and 
dissipate  its  force. 

Tautology  consists  in  the  repetition  of  the  sense  in 
different  words. 

Verbosity  consists  in  the  use  of  words,  unnecessary, 
though  not  repeating  the  sense. 

Redundancy  consists  in  the  addition  of  circumstances 
not  essential  to  the  sense. 

Avoiding  these  faults  will  not  prevent  our  presenting 
the  thought  in  all  the  forms  needful  to  the  clear  commu- 
nication and  full  comprehension  of  it.  De  Quincey  says, 
''  There  is  a  sort  of  previous  lubrication,  such  as  the  boa- 
constrictor  applies  to  any  subject  of  digestion,  which  is 
requisite  to  familiarize  the  mind  with  a  startling  or  a 
complex  novelty.  And  thi^  is  obtained  for  the  intellect 
by  varying  the  modes  of  ]v;  renting  it — now  putting  it 
directly  before  the  eye,  noAV  <  )Iiquely,  now  in  an  abstract 
shape,  and  now  in  the  con-  \"  Men  whose  style  has 
been  formed  by  public  speaiving  are  given  to  masking, 
"  by  slight  differences  in  the  manner,  a  virtual  identity 


Use  of  Words —  Words  to  be  Omitted,       99 

in  the  substance."  A  single  statement  of  a  fact  or  truth 
does  not  always  put  the  audience  in  full  possession  of  it  ; 
and  they  cannot  return,  "  where  each  sentence  perishes 
as  soon  as  it  is  born,"  to  complete  their  grasp  of  it. 
Webster,  whose  style  was  formed  in  addressing  juries, 
reiterates  his  meaning,  but  always  varies  his  language, 
in  his  great  senatorial  speeches. 

Words  used  needlessly. — (i)  An,  or  a,  before  a  noun 
which  denotes  the  whole  of  a  class  ;  (2)  the  before  a  noun 
sufficiently  distinguished  without  it ;  (3)  an,  a,  or  the 
before  any,  except  the  first,  of  a  series  of  connected  ad- 
jectives modifying  the  same  noun  ;  (4)  he,  she,  and  other 
personal  pronouns  when  they  have  no  function  ;  (5)  a 
second  negative  contradicting  the  first  when  you  do  not 
wish  to  affirm  ;  (6)  the  participle  got  when  it  adds  noth- 
ing to  the  force  of  the  verb  have  ;  (7)  more  or  most  with 
adjectives  in  the  comparative  or  the  superlative  degree  ; 
(8)  other  or  others  when  by  its  use  an  object  would  be 
brought  into  a  class  to  which  it  does  not  belong  ;  and 
(9),  in  general,  an  adjective  or  an  adverb,  a  preposition 
or  a  conjunction  which  has  no  special  function  —  all 
these  should  be  omitted. 

Some  of  these  offences,  as  (5)  and  (7),  have  not  always 
been  offences. 

Direction. — Tell  which  of  these  three  faults,  tautology,  verbosity, 
or  redundancy,  is  committed  here,  and  correct  them  in  your  recast  of 
the  sentences: — 

I.  Ezra  received  a  royal  edict  from  the  King.  2.  I  wrote  to 
you  a  long  letter  yesterday.  3.  I  will  not  waste  my  strength  for 
nothing.  4.  Spruce  timber  is  cheaper  than  the  pine.  5.  Re- 
dundancy sometimes  arises  from  a  want  of  thought,  which  leads 
the  author  to  repeat  over  and  over  again  his  little  modicum  of 
sense  at  his  command.     6.  Have  you  got  matches  to  sell }    7. 


100         Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity. 


He  has  not  yet  gone,  I  don't  think.  8.  That  is  the  general  rule. 
9.  Cast  your  eye  in  retrospect  back  over  the  past.  10.  Charles 
V.  and  Francis  I.  were  both  mutually  exhausted.  11.  The  ine- 
briety is  a  vice.  12.  The  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled  literally 
and  to  the  letter.  13.  Grant  us  each  and  every  one  thy  favor. 
14.  Of  all  other  men  the  Saxon  is  the  slowest  to  admit  the 
thought  of  revolution.  15.  He  received  divine  help  from  God. 
16.  Thou  didst  swear  to  me  upon  a  parcel-gilt  goblet,  sitting  in 
my  Dolphin-chamber,  at  the  round-table,  by  a  sea-coal  fire,  upon 
Wednesday  in  Whitsun-week,  when  the  prince  broke  thy  head 
for  likening  his  father  to  a  singing  man  of  Windsor;  thou 
didst  swear  to  me  then,  as  I  was  washing  thy  wound,  to  marry 
me.  17.  The  annual  anniversary  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims, 
celebrated  yearly,  took  place  a  few  days  since.  18.  He  lives 
near  to  his  father.  19.  Wellington  he  won  Waterloo.  20.  The 
dawn  is  overcast ;  the  morning  lowers,  and  heavily  in  clouds 
brings  on  the  day.  21.  He  had  not  scarcely  a  moment  to  live. 
22.  Would  to  God  that  harmony  might  again  return  (meaning, 
come  the  second  time).  22,.  Name  the  apple,  if  you  can,  by 
tasting  of  it.  24.  I  went  home  full  of  a  great  many  serious  re- 
flections. 25.  I  don't  like  to  hear  a  woman  speak  too  loud.  26. 
A  student,  graduating,  receives  the  title  of  an  A.B.  27.  The 
second  and  the  third  words  are  Latin.  28.  After  the  most 
straitest  sect  of  our  religion,  I  lived  a  Pharisee.  29.  The  law  is 
null  void,  and  dead.  30.  The  charge  is  utterly,  totally,  and  abso- 
lutely false.  31.  He  can't  hardly  stand  up.  32.  The  children 
need  constant  supervision  all  the  while.  33.  An  equestrian 
statue  of  Lafayette  on  a  horse  was  unveiled.  34.  Who  doubts 
but  that  the  world  is  improving?  35.  In  December,  the  Con- 
gress assembles.  36.  Most  of  them  were  for  accepting  the  fa- 
vorable terms  and  which  embraced  all  the  first  Crusades  had 
been  intended  to  gain.  » 

Direction. — Bring  in  sentences  illustrating  these  faults  of  excess  in 
all  their  varieties,  and  correct  them. 


Use  of  Words — Words  not  to  be  Omi'ited:   '  loi 


LESSON  40. 

USE   OF  WORDS — TOO   FEW   WORDS. 

6.  Use  a  Sufficient  Number  of  Words.— The  thought 
may  be  obscured  through  the  failure  to  use  a  sufficient 
number  of  words. 

Words  which  should  not  be  Omitted.— Some  of  the 
words  which  should  not  be  omitted  are  (i)  the  when  the 
object  is  not  sufficiently  distinguished  without  it  ;  (2) 
an^  <2,  or  the  before  each  of  two  or  more  connected  adjec- 
tives modifying  different  nouns  ;  (3)  an^  a^  or  the  before 
each  of  two  or  more  connected  nouns  denoting  things 
that  are  to  be  distinguished  from  each  other  or  em- 
phasized ;  (4)  a  before  few  and  little  when  these  are 
opposed  to  none ;  (5)  other  when  needed  to  keep  an 
object  in  its  class  ;  (6)  that  or  which  or  the  words  for 
which  it  stands,  when  required  to  complete  a  contrast 
or  fully  to  express  the  thought ;  (7)  the  verb  or  the  verb 
with  its  subject  when  needed  after  than  or  as  to  prevent 
ambiguity  ;  (8)  much  when  needed  after  very  ;  (9)  words 
required  in  order  that  two  or  more  connected  words  or 
phrases  referring  to  another  word  or  phrase  should  each 
make  good  sense  with  it ;  and  (10)  adjectives,  pronouns, 
prepositions,  and  all  other  parts  of  speech  when  their 
repetition  would  give  distinctness  or  proper  prominence 
to  the  ideas  expressed  by  the  words  following  them. 

The  thought  may  be  obscured  by  the  ambiguous  use 
of  nouns  and  pronouns  in  the  possessive,  by  the  use  of 
a  word  in  many  senses  in  the  same  sentence,  and  by  an 
expression  too  concise. 


lo^       '    'Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity, 


Direction. — The  italicized  words  in  these  sentences,  whether  re- 
peated words  or  not,  save  the  sentences  from  ambiguity  or  self-contra- 
diction, or  bring  ideas  into  proper  clearness  or  prominence.  Read  these 
sentences  without  such  words,  and  then  point  out  their  functions: — 

I.  These  have  been  more  distinguished  by  zeal  than  by  can- 
dor or  by  skill.  2.  The  poetry  of  Dante  is  picturesque  beyond 
any  other  ever  written.  3.  The  days  of  Charles  11.  were  the 
golden  age  of  the  coward,  the  bigot,  and  the  slave.  4.  Every 
ancient  and  every  modern  language  has  contributed  something 
of  grace,  of  energy,  or  of  music  to  Milton's  poetry.  5.  Did  any 
brave  Englishman  who  "rode  into  the  jaws  of  death"  at  Bala- 
klava  serve  England  more  truly  than  did  Florence  Nightingale  ? 
6.  The  works  of  Clarendon  and  of  Hume  are  the  most  authori- 
tative and  the  most  popular  historical  works  in  our  language.  7. 
All  the  various  kinds  of  interest  which  belong  to  the  near  and 
to  the  distant,  to  the  present  and  to  ///<?  past  were  collected  on  one 
spot  and  in  one  hour.  8.  Voltaire  gambols  ;  he  grins  ;  he  shakes 
the  side ;  he  points  the  finger  ;  he  turns  up  the  nose ;  he  shoots 
out  the  tongue.  9.  In  America,  millions  of  Englishmen  were  at 
war  with  the  country  from  which  their  blood,  their  language, 
and  their  institutions  were  derived.  10.  I  have  always  believed 
and  still  do  believe  that  the  soul  is  immortal.  11.  A  has 
travelled  more  than  H.,  but  is  not  so  well  educated  as  he.  12. 
There  was  a  heart,  a  kindly  feeling,  which  prevailed  over  the 
party.  13.  The  beating  I  gave  or  received  (not  i7iy  beating)  did 
him  good.  14.  Lovest  thou  me  more  than  these  love  me^  or 
lovest  thou  me  more  than  thou  lovest  these  .^  15.  Those  who 
drove  James  from  his  throne,  who  seduced  his  army,  who 
alienated  his  friends,  who  imprisoned  him  in  his  palace,  who 
broke  in  upon  his  very  slumbers  by  imperious  messages,  and 
who  pursued  him  with  fire  and  sword  from  one  part  of  the  em- 
pire to  another  were  his  nephew  and  his  two  daughters. 

Direction. — Find  and  classify  the  faults  below,  and  correct  them  : — 

I.  There  are  few  artists  who  draw  horses  so  well  as  Mr. 
Leech.  2.  The  grave  of  Robt.  Bruce  was  oniy  marked  by  two 
broad  flag-stones,  oa  which  Burns  knelt  and  kissed,    3.  Our  re- 


Use  of  Words — Words  noi  to  be  Omitted,  .103 


buke  had  the  desired  effect.  4.  There  is  a  great  difference  be- 
tween the  language  under  Charles  I.  and  Charles  II.,  between 
that  under  Charles  II.  and  Queen  Anne.  5.  There  is  a  great 
difference  between  the  dog  and  cat.  6.  She  had  not  yet  listen- 
ed patiently  to  his  heart-beats,  but  only  felt  that  her  own  was 
beating  violently.  7.  He  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and 
good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  unjust.  8.  Neither 
blindness  nor  gout,  age,  penury,  domestic  affliction,  political 
disappointment,  abuse,  proscription,  nor  neglect  had  power  to 
disturb  Milton's  sedate  and  majestic  patience.  9.  One  should 
covet  nothing  less  than  the  best.  10.  Pine  is  the  tallest  of  our 
trees.  11.  Much  to  his  comfort,  few  of  his  creditors  met,  and 
gave  him  little  encouragement.  12.  The  brain  needs  rest  as 
much  if  not  more  than  the  rest  of  the  body.  13.  We  are  charm- 
ed by  that  singularly  humane  and  delicate  humor  in  which  Ad- 
dison excelled  all  men.  14.  He  has  worn  to-day  a  silk  and  felt 
hat.  15.  It  required  few  talents  to  which  most  men  are  not 
born  or,  at  least,  may  not  acquire.  16.  Sewal,  Archbishop  of 
York,  complained  of  the  way  in  which  he  had  been  harassed 
by  suspensions,  examinations,  and  in  other  ways.  17.  Mrs. 
Horneck  and  her  daughters  were  very  pleased  to  have  wnth 
them  on  this  Continental  trip  so  distinguished  a  person  as  Dr. 
Goldsmith.  18.  The  peasantry  of  Scotland  loved  Burns  as 
never  people  loved  a  poet.  19.  I  ask  him,  you,  and  every  hon- 
orable and  patriotic  man  this  question.  20.  The  rhythm  of  the 
second  and  third  line  is  imperfect.  21.  It  is  sometimes  difficult 
to  distinguish  between  an  interrogative  and  exclamatory  sen- 
tence. 22.  Platinum  is  heavier  but  not  so  useful  as  iron.  23. 
The  error  has  and  will  again  be  exploded.  24.  Reform,  there- 
fore, without  bravery  or  scandal  of  former  times  and  persons ; 
but  yet  set  it  down  to  thyself,  as  well  to  create  good  prece- 
dents as  to  follow  them. 

Direction. — Bring  in  sentences  illustrating  all  these  errors  of  omis- 
sion, and  correct  them. 


I04  Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity, 


LESSON  41. 

ARRANGEMENT   OF   WORDS,   PHRASES,   AND   CLAUSES. 

Perspicuity,  we  have  seen,  depends,  I.  Upon  the  au- 
thor's mastery  of  his  subject,  and  II.  Upon  his  use  of 
words.  Through  some  nine  Lessons  we  have  insisted  (i) 
that  you  use  simple  words;  (2)  that  you  use  words  which 
express  your  meaning  with  propriety  and  with  precision; 
(3)  that  you  use  personal  pronouns  with  care  ;  (4)  that 
you  avoid  words  and  constructions  which  have  no  good 
footing  in  the  language  ;  (5)  that  you  avoid  an  excess  of 
words;  and  (6)  that  you  use  a  sufficient  number  of  words. 

We  add  that  perspicuity  depends  also 

III.  Upon  the  Arrangement  of  Words,  Phrases,  and 
Clauses. — This  is  a  matter  of  supreme  importance,  and 
one  not  always  carefully  attended  to  even  by  the  best  of 
authors.  One  cannot  rely  upon  punctuation  to  correct 
blunders  of  position. 

Place  (i)  the  subject  before  the  object,  or  object  com- 
plement, if  there  would  be  a  doubt  which  word  is  subject 
and  which  is  object  in  case  the  positions  were  reversed. 
Place  (2*)  all  single  word  modifiers,  such  as  adjectives 
and  adverbs,  (3)  all  phrase  modifiers,  prepositional  and 
participial,  and  (4)  all  clause  modifiers,  adjective  or  ad- 
verb, where  their  position  will  raise  no  doubt  as  to  what 
they  modify. 

This  rule  does  not  rigidly  exclude  words  from  between 
these  modifiers  and  the  words  they  qualify  or  limit  ;  but 
it  does  exclude  them  in  case  their  insertion  would  raise 
a  reasonable  question  as  to  what  you  intend  these  words^ 


Arrangement  of  Words,  Phrases,  etc,      105 

phrases,  or  clauses  to  modify,  or  even  when  a  second 
reading  to  ascertain  this  would  be  needed.  Great  free- 
dom of  position  is  allowed,  provided  the  grammatical 
relations  of  the  words  are  kept  obvious,  and  the  thought 
is  kept  clear. 

Direction. — Study  these  sentences  carefully,  determine  what  they 
were  intended  to  express,  and  then  recast  them,  placing  the  italicized 
expressions  where  you  think  they  belong: — 

I.  Hard  by  a  butcher,  on  a  block,  had  laid  his  whittle  down. 
2.  I  have  thought  over  what  you  said  the  other  night  very  care- 
fully. 3.  If  I  love  him,  when  I  die,  he  will  take  me  home  on 
high.  4.  Operators  are  wanted  on  cloaks,  5.  Thos.  W.  Coke 
put  an  end  to  the  American  war  by  moving  its  cessation  in  the 
House  of  Coinjnons.  6.  The  farmer's  orchard  is  respected  by  the 
boy  who  owns  a  large  dog.  7»  Mary's  sister,  who  was  the  first  queen 
of  Engla7id,  was  a  protestant.  8.  D's  fortune  is  equal  to  one-half 
of  E's  which  is  one  thousand  dollars.  9.  A  scientist  read  a  paper 
on  the  catastrophe  of  geology  at  Yale  College.  10.  A  straight 
line  can  only  cut  the  circumference  of  a  circle  at  two  points.  11. 
In  one  evening  I  counted  twenty-seven  meteors  sitting  on  my 
piazza.  12.  The  savage  here  the  settler  slew.  13.  From  a 
shoal  of  richest  rubies,  clear  and  cold,  broke  the  morning.  14. 
The  man  struck  his  friend  while  lookijtg  hint  straight  in  the  face. 
15.  He  saw  the  place  where  Warren  had  fallenyi^r  the  first  time, 
yesterday.  16.  I  shall /^^////-fr  attempt  to  palliate  nor  deny  it.  17. 
The  grave  of  Robt.  Bruce  was  only  marked  by  two  broad  flag- 
stones. 18.  I  saw  that  they  had  been  building  a  bridge  at  the 
foot  of  Chatham  ^t.,  in  the  evening  paper.  19.  The  Prince  of 
Wales  was  forbidden  to  become  king  or  any  other  man. 

Direction. — Bring  in  sentences  illustrating  all  these  faulty  arrange- 
ments, and  correct  them. 


1 06  Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity. 


LESSON  42. 

ARRANGEMENT  OF  WORDS,  PHRASES,  AND  CLAUSES, 

Direction. — Do  with  these  sentences  as  required  with  those  in  the 
preceding  Lesson: — 

I.  A  robin  sees  a  worm  while  it  is  Jlying,  2.  There  is  a  great 
lack  of  disposition  to  hoe  among  the  educated,  3.  Booted  and 
spurred,  with  a  heavy  stride^  on  the  opposite  shore  walked  Paul 
Revere.  4.  Sewal  refused  to  accept  of  inexperienced  persons 
recommended  by  the  pontiff  to  benefices,  oji  the  ground  of  their 
ignorance  of  the  English  laftguage.  5.  The  Sultan  of  Mysore  was 
again  defeated  and  slain.  6*  Jas,  I L  retained  the  great  officers 
who  had  served  under  his  brother  that  he  could  trust.  7.  The 
warp  of  English  is  Anglo-Saxon,  but  the  woof  is  Roman  as  well 
as  the  embroidery.  8.  The  voice  is  only  suspended  for  a  moment. 
9.  He  is  to  speak  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  at  the  Academy 
of  Music.  10.  The  journals  not  only  spoke  in  high  terms  of 
Mr.  Moon's  powers  as  a  critic  but  also  as  a  writer.  11.  The 
first  word  of  an  example  may  also  properly  begin  with  a  capital 
letter.  12.  A  servant  will  obey  a  master's  orders  that  he  likes. 
13.  He  celebrated  the  triumphs  of  Marlborough  in  verse.  14. 
Lord  Brooke  was  shot  from  the  church,  i7t  the  eye,  as  he  stood 
in  a  door,  of  which  he  instantly  died.  15.  The  man  came  to  his 
death  by  excessive  drinking,  producing  apoplexy,  in  the  minds 
of  the  jury.  16.  And  keep  the  flame  from  wasting  by  repose, 
17.  I  did  not  hear  what  you  said  coming  so  suddenly  into  the 
noisy  room. 

Direction. — Bring  in  sentences  illustrating  the  faulty  position  of 
single  words,  of  phrases,  and  of  clauses,  and  place  these  where  they 
should  stand. 


Unity  of  the  Sente7tce,  Errors,  107 

LESSON  43. 

UNITY  OF  THE   SENTENCE — MISCELLANEOUS   ERRORS. 

Perspicuity  depends 

IV.  Upon  the  Unity  of  the  Sentence. — A  sentence  is 
not  a  bag  to  be  stuffed  with  miscellaneous  matter,  its 
value  increasing  with  the  quantity  crowded  into  it.  It  is 
rather  a  picture,  aiming  to  present  a  single  object  with 
or  without  accessories.  As  you  saw  in  Lessons  12  and  13, 
a  sentence  may  have  more  than  a  single  leading  clause, 
each  modified,  if  need  be,  by  dependent  clauses.  But  the 
thoughts  of  these  leading  clauses  must  be  closely  relatec^ 
Qpe  continuing  \\\(^  r>t]y^r  in  contrast  with  it,  a  consequence 
of  it,  or  an  inference  from  it,  and  all  the  clauses  must  com- 
bine to  form  a  unit  and  not  a  mass  of  units.  Unity  is  often 
violated  by  a  chang-^  of  subject,  by  heterogeneous  mate- 
rial, by  long  sentences,  and  especially  by  long  parentheses, 
the  matter  of  which  might  be  dropped  outright  or  be 
absorbed  into  the  body  of  the  sentence  by  a  careful  re- 
cast of  it. 

Direction. — Rewrite  these  sentences,  (i)  omitting,  or  (2)  connecting 
more  closely,  the  parts  that  destroy  the  unity,  or  (3)  resolving  each 
sentence  into  two  or  more  sentences: — 

I.  For  who  knows  not  that  truth  is  strong  next  to  the  Al- 
mighty ;  she  needs  no  policies,no  stratagems, no  licensing  to  make 
her  victorious,  those  are  the  shafts  and  the  defences  that  error 
uses  against  her  power :  give  her  but  room,  and  do  not  bind  her 
when  she  sleeps  ?  2.  The  Spartans  were  censured  by  the  an- 
cient writers  for  their  inhuman  treatment  of  the  Helots,  a  race 
long  subject  to  the  Lacedemonians,  who,  when  the  former  be- 
came too  numerous,  ordered  the  youth  to  hunt  them  down  like 
beasts.    3.  Here  also  would  properly  arise  the  question, started 


io8  Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity, 

by  Charles  Fox,  (but  probably  due  originally  to  the  conversation 
of  some  far  subtler  friend,  such  as  Edmund  Burke,)  how  far  the 
practice  of  foot-notes  (a  practice  purely  modern  in  its  form)  is 
reconcilable  with  the  laws  of  just  composition  ;  and  whether  in 
virtue,  though  not  in  form,  such  foot-notes  did  not  exist  for  the 
ancients,  by  an  evasion  we  could  point  out.  4.  The  Spanish 
fleet  continued  its  retreat,  but,  in  its  passage  around  Scotland 
and  Ireland,  a  terrible  storm  arose,  and  the  vessels  dashed 
against  the  rock-bound  coasts,  and  not  more  than  fifty  reached 
Spain,  and  the  greater  part  of  these  were  worthless. 

MISCELLANEOUS  VIOLATIONS  OF  PERSPICUITY. 

Direction. — Classify  and  correct  these  violations  of  perspicuity: — 

*-  I.  Dr.  Arnold  wrote  a  History  of  Rome  in  three  volumes, 
which  was  broken  ofif  by  his  death  at  the  end  of  the  second  Pu- 
nic war.  2.  The  editors  went  oflf  on  a  jamboree.  3.  Contrac- 
tion only  takes  place  before  a  vowel.  4.  There  is  no  reason 
why  a  prose-writer  should  not  avail  himself,  as  well  as  a  poet, 
of  all  means  of  expressing  nice  shades  of  meaning.  5.  In  the 
temper  he  is  now,  I  cannot  speak  to  him.  6.  But  there  here 
suggests  itself  to  us  an  interesting  question.  7.  There  is  no 
stond  or  impediment  to  the  wit  but  may  be  wrought  out  by  fit 
studies.  8.  We  extend  our  classification  from  the  more  clearly 
to  the  more  obscurely,  from  the  more  closely  to  the  more  re- 
motely connected.  9.  Charles  V.,  wishing  to  aggrandize  his 
family,  he  negotiated  for  the  marriage  of  Philip  to  Mary.  10. 
The  farmer  went  to  his  neighbor,  and  said  that  he  knew  his 
cattle  were  in  his  field.  11.  The  brother  of  my  friend  who 
was  married  last  year  died  yesterday.  12.  After  the  Phoeni- 
cians discovered  the  glass,  they  made  money  out  of  it.  13. 
Kneller  used  to  send  away  the  ladies  who  sat  to  him  as  soon  as 
he  had  sketched  their  faces.  14.  It  received  the  popular  assent 
of  the  people.  15.  When  the  Spaniards  saw  the  fireships  bear- 
ing down  upon  them,  every  cable  was  cut,  and  the  fleet  drifted 
out  into  the  open  sea,  and  several  vessels  were  lost,  and  the  En- 
glish pursued  them,  fighting  all  the  time,  and,  had  not  the  pow- 


Miscellaneous  Errors,  109 


der  given  out,  they  would  have  destroyed  more  than  sixteen  of 
the  Armada  which  they  did  destroy.  16.  There  were  two  par- 
ties rose  up.  17.  It  makes  us  blush  to  add  that  even  grammar 
is  so  little  of  a  perfect  attainment  amongst  us  that,  with  one  or 
two  exceptions,  (one  being  Shakespeare,  whom  we  affect  to  con- 
sider as  belonging  to  a  semi-barbarous  age,)  we  have  never  seen 
the  writer,  through  a  circuit  of  prodigious  reading,  who  has  not 
sometimes  violated  the  accidence  or  the  syntax  of  English 
grammar.  18.  They  travel  to  find  work,  if  they  can,  during  the 
period  of  hard  times.  19.  "  The  Rehearsal"  has  not  vitality 
sufficient  to  preserve  it  from  putrefaction.  20.  She  doesn't 
mean  nothing  by  that.  21.  No  country  has  grown  so  rapidly  as 
this.  22.  The  fifth  and  the  sixth  pupils  may  change  places.  21, 
A  new  species  of  a  fish  has  appeared.  24.  He  saw  two  men 
fight  a  prize ;  one  was  a  fair  man,  a  sergeant  of  the  guards  ;  the 
other  black,  a  butcher;  the  sergeant  had  red  breeches,  the 
butcher  blue  ;  they  fought  upon  a  stage,  about  four  o'clock,  and 
the  sergeant  wounded  the  butcher  in  the  leg.  25.  What  have 
you  got  in  your  basket  ?  26.  He  drove  two  horses — a  bay  and 
sorrel.  27.  And  thus  the  son  the  fervent  sire  addressed.  28. 
All  goes  wrong,  and  nothing  as  it  ought.  29.  The  strawberry, 
of  all  other  fruits,  is  the  most  delicious.  30.  Confession  is  the 
most  preferable  course.  31.  She  looks  like  to  her  mother.  32. 
We  are  thankful  that  we  have  few  good  friends.  33.  Will  he 
treat  me  as  these  others.^  34.  The  Bible  has  and  will  be  read 
by  millions.  35.  Preserve  the  right  of  thy  place,  but  stir  not 
questions  of  jurisdiction ;  and  rather  assume  thy  right  in  silence, 
and  de  facto,  than  voice  it  with  claims  and  challenges.  36.  She 
carried  two  flags — an  American  and  English.  37.  The  walls 
were  very  defaced.  38.  The  number  of  French  words  adopted 
into  English  naturally  became  more  and  more  as  time  went  on. 

39.  The  elder  of  the  two  sisters  was  not  yet  twenty,  and  they 
had  been  educated  since  they  were  about  twelve  years  old  and 
had  lost  their  parents  on  plans  at  once  narrow  and  promiscu- 
ous, first  in  an  English  family,  and  afterwards  in  a  Swiss  family. 

40.  With  desire  have  I  desired  to  eat  this  Passover.  41.  Our 
times  do  not  suffer  by  comparison  with  the  times  of  Elizabeth, 
though  these  are  called  the  good  old  times. 


no  Qualities  of  Style — Perspicuity, 


A   SCHEME   FOR   REVIEW. 


Style.  —  Elements 
(Lesson  31). 


determining   it 


1.  The  Topic. 

2.  The  Author's  Indi- 

viduality. 

3.  Authority. 


xti 
P 

p 

H 

Til 

P^ 
P4 


II.  Upon  the  Use  of  Words 
(Lessons  31-40  and  43). 


Perspicuity  defined  (Lesson  31). 

I.  Upon  the  Author's  Mastery  of  his  Subject  (Lesson  31). 

1.  Use  Simple  Words. 
(Anglo-Saxon.) 

2.  Use  words  with  Pro- 
priety and  Pre- 
cision. (Syno- 
nyms.) 

3.  Use  Personal  Pro- 
nouns with  care. 
(Ambiguity.) 

\.  Avoid  Words  and 
Constructions  that 
have  no  good  foot- 
ingin  the  language. 
(Obsolete,  foreign, 
and  newly  coined 
words.  Purity. 

Campbell's  Can- 
ons. Barbarisms. 
Solecisms.) 

;.  Avoid  Tautology, 
Verbosity,  and  Re- 
dundancy. (Words 
•  used  needlessly.) 

).  Use  a  Sufficient 
Number  of  Words. 
(Words  thatshould 
not  be  omitted.) 

III.  Upon  the  Arrangement  of  Words,    Phrases,    and 

Clauses  (Lessons  41-43). 

IV.  Upon  the    Unity  of  the  Sentence   (long  sentences 

and  long  parentheses,  Lesson  43). 


The  Cojnparisoii — Things  first  Named.     1 1 1 


LESSON  44. 

IMAGERY. 

THE   COMPARISON. 

Things  first  Known  and  Named. — Our  first  knowl- 
edge is  of  concrete  things — objects  in  the  outer,  the  ma- 
terial, world.  Some  of  these  things  we  only  see  or  hear, 
some  we  see  and  touch,  and  some  we  see,  touch,  taste,  and 
smell.  By  this  use  of  our  senses  we  learn  the  diverse 
qualities  of  things,  and  we  learn  to  distinguish  things 
by  their  qualities.  This  knowledge  we  begin  early  to 
acquire,  we  acquire  it  all  through  life  ;  and,  having  to 
deal  often  w4th  the  same  objects,  we  learn  again  and 
again  the  lessons  they  teach.  With  no  other  things 
are  we  so  familiar  as  with  those  of  the  outer  world,  of 
no  other  knowledge  are  we  so  sure  as  of  this,  and  no 
other  words  do  we  use  with  the  clearness  and  certainty 
with  which  we  handle  those  denoting  the  objects  of  our 
senses. 

And  what  is  true  of  us  individually  is  true  of  the  race 
taken  as  an  individual.  It  was  long  engrossed  with 
what  appealed  so  powerfully  to  the  senses — the  objects 
of  the  material  world.  Some  of  these  objects  were  seen 
less  frequently  than  others,  and  so  were  less  thoroughly 
known.  In  process  of  time  men  came  to  think,  too,  of 
things  which  they  could  not  see  or  hear,  touch,  taste,  or 
smell — abstract  things,  such  as  honesty,  truth,  health, 
strength  ;  and  things  of  the  inner  world,  such  as  spirit, 


112  Qualities  of  Style — Imagery, 

recollection,  deliberation.  Thinking  of  the  new  things 
of  the  inner  world  or  of  the  outer,  they  would  soon  wish 
to  speak  of  them.  But  the  day  for  forming  new  words 
from  new  roots  was  then  past.  And  even  if  it  had  not 
been,  it  was  obvious  that  the  old  words  would  be  better 
understood  if  they  could  be  used.  It  was  soon  seen  that 
the  old  words  could  be  put  to  these  new  uses  ;  they  were, 
and  for  this  reason — things,  wherever  they  exist,  stand 
in  many  striking  relations  to  each  other.  In  certain 
remarkable  qualities  or  offices,  real  or  imagined,  things 
are  (i)  like  each  other,  or  (2)  unlike  each  other,  or, 
speaking  generally,  (3)  they  are  connected  by  some  other 
natural  law,  or  relation.  Things  which  men  know  to  be 
connected  in  any  of  these  ways  are  so  associated  in  their 
minds  that  one  readily  suggests  the  other. 

Basis  of  Imagery.— Upon  the  basis  of  these  real  or 
fancied  relations  between  things  rests  the  possibility  of 
setting  one  of  them  over  against  the  other,  or  of  speaking 
of  one  of  them  in  the  terms  which  denote  the  other. 

Figures  of  speech  —  images  —  are  those  expressions 
in  which,  departing  from  our  ordinary  style,  we  assert 
or  assume  any  of  these  notable  relations.  As  images 
are  used  in  all  kinds  of  discourse,  imagery  may  well  be 
regarded  as  a  quality  of  style. 

Figures  of  speech  of  all  kinds  are  invaluable,  because, 
as  we  have  seen,  they  convey  the  thought  more  clearly 
than  plain  language  could,  and  so  make  it  easier  of  ap- 
prehension. They  multiply  the  resources  of  language, 
too,  enabling  us  to  use  the  same  word  in  many  senses; 
they  beautify  style — a  diamond  pin  may  adorn  while  it 
does  toilet  duty. 

A  comparison,  or  simile,  is  a  figure  of  speech  in  which 
a  likeness  is  pointed  out  or  asserted  between  things  in 
other  respects  unlike. 


Comparisons,  or  Similes,  113 

Its  rhetorical  value  lies  mainly  in  the  fact  that  it  makes 
the  thought  easy  of  apprehension. 

Direction. — Substitute  plain  language  for  the  figurative,  and  note 
the  loss  of  distinctness  and  of  beauty: — 

I.  Unstable  as  water,  thou  shalt  not  excel.  2.  Their  ranks 
are  breaking  like  thin  clouds  before  a  Biscay  gale.  3.  How  of- 
ten would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  as  a  hen  doth 
gather  her  brood  under  her  wings!  4.  His  words  were  shed 
softer  than  leaves  from  the  pine,  and  they  fell  on  Sir  Launfal, 
as  snows  on  the  brine.  5.  The  Kingdom  of  God  is  like  a  grain 
of  mustard  seed,  is  like  leaven  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal. 
6.  A  wordy  writer  has  that  command  of  language  w^hich  a  rider 
has  of  a  horse  that  is  running  away  with  him.  7.  The  blood 
dropped  out  of  her  cheeks,  as  the  mercury  drops  from  a  broken 
barometer  tube.  8.  The  little  bird  sits  at  his  door  in  the 
sun,  atilt  like  a  blossom  among  the  leaves.  9.  With  wings  fold- 
ed, I  rest  on  mine  airy  nest,  as  still  as  a  brooding  dove.  10. 
Their  lives  glide  on  like  rivers  that  water  the  woodland.  11. 
They  are  cowards  with  hearts  as  false  as  stairs  of  sand,  with  liv- 
ers white  as  milk.  12.  Poets  commonly  have  no  larger  stock 
of  tunes  than  a  hand  organ  has.  13.  It  [mercy]  droppeth  as  the 
gentle  rain  from  Heaven  upon  the  place  beneath.  14.  She  sat 
like  Patience  on  a  monument,  smiling  at  grief.  15.  She  let  con- 
cealment, like  a  worm  in  the  bud,  feed  on  her  damask  cheek.  16. 
A  fatal  habit  settles  upon  one  like  a  vampyre,  and  sucks  his 
blood.  17.  Over  thy  wounds  now  do  I  prophesy,  which,  like 
dumb  mouths,  do  ope  their  ruby  lips.  18.  The  vulgar  intel- 
lectual palate  thinks  nothing  good  that  does  not  go  off  with  a 
pop  like  a  champagne  cork.  19.  She  saw  my  statue,  which,  like 
a  fountain  with  a  hundred  spouts,  did  run  pure  blood.  20.  As 
fire  drives  out  fire,  so  pity  pity. 

Direction. — Find  apt  resemblances,  and  complete  the  comparisons 
here  begun: — 

I.  The  vessel  swept  toward  the  reef.  2.  Darkness  falls  from 
the  wing  of  night.  3.  She  melted  from  her  seat.  4.  It  was  be- 
§nieare4  as  black.  5.  The  014  Guard  rushed  upon  the  broken 


114         QMalities  of  Style — Imagery, 

squares  of  the  English.  6.  A  thought  sometimes,  hits.  one.  7. 
He  is  as  deaf.     8.  He  was  as  blind.     9.  He  is  more  puzzled. 

10.  The  telegraph  stretches  its  ugly  length  across  the  continent. 

11.  Little  troops  of  sparks,  scattering  as  in  fear,  thread  the  tan- 
gled darks  of  the  chimney.  12.  Locomotives  with  their  trains 
fly  to  and  fro  over  the  continent.  13.  Webster's  thoughts 
stand  out  as  plainly  to  the  sight.  14.  In  Sartor  Resartus  and  in 
much  of  modern  literature,  pantheism  gleams  and  glitters.  15. 
As  we  grow  old  we  should  grow  sweet  and  mellow. 

Direction. — Supply  the  words  like,  as,  just  as,  or  so,  and  convert 
each  pair  of  sentences  numbered  below,  into  a  single  sentence: — 

I.  Odious  habits  fasten  only  on  natures  that  are  already  en- 
feebled. Mosses  and  fungi  gather  on  sickly  trees,  not  on  thriv- 
ing ones.  2.  One  may  speak  and  write  in  a  style  too  terse  and 
condensed.  Hay  and  straw  must  be  given  to  horses  in  order  to 
distend  the  stomach.  3.  Specific  words  are  more  effective  than 
general  terms.  The  edge  of  a  sword  cuts  deeper  than  the  back 
of  it.  4.  Till  men  are  accustomed  to  freedom,  they  do  not  know 
how  to  use  it.  In  climates  where  wine  is  a  rarity,  intemperance 
abounds.  5.  Too  swift  arrives  as  tardy  as  too  slow.  The  tor- 
toise reached  the  goal  before  the  hare.  6.  When  the  pre- 
sumption is  on  your  side,  you  should  not  neglect  the  advantage. 
A  body  of  troops  able  to  defend  a  fortress,  when  inside  of  it,  may 
be  beaten  if  they  sally  forth,  and  fight  in  the  open  field.  7.  Gentle 
means  sometimes  accomplish  what  harsh  measures  cannot.  The 
sun  made  the  traveller  take  off  his  coat  when  the  wind  failed  to 
do  it.  8  To  adduce  more  than  is  needed  to  prove  your  conclu- 
sion is  suicidal.  If  one  strikes  a  wedge  too  violently,  the  elas- 
ticity of  the  wood  throws  it  out. 


The  ComparisoUy  the  Metaphor.  1 1 5 

LESSON   45. 

THE   COMPARISON. 

Direction. — Bring  into  the  class  twenty-five  rare  comparisons,  ten 
of  which  you  shall  have  found  in  your  reading,  and  fifteen  shall  be  of 
your  own  coinage.  Let  some  be  like  those  last  given  in  the  Lesson 
above. 


LESSON  46. 

THE     METAPHOR. 

In  the  comparison,  the  relation  of  likeness  between 
things  is,  as  you  have  seen,  pointed  out  or  asserted. 
But  this  relation  may  be  asstmied.  It  being  taken  for 
granted  that  the  reader  or  hearer  sees  the  point  of  re- 
semblance, the  words  like,  as,  Just  as,  and  so  may  be 
omitted,  and  the  word  or  words  which  denote  one  of 
the  things  may  be  brought  over  and  applied  to  the 
other.  This  assumption  of  likeness  may  be  of  different 
degrees.  We  may,  for  example,  say,  The  stars  are 
night's  candles,  or,  presuming  on  the  reader's  or  hearer's 
fuller  knowledge  of  the  likeness  between  the  things, 
stars  and  candles,  we  may  substitute  the  name  of  one 
for  that  of  the  other,  and  go  on  to  say,  Night's  candles  are 
burnt  out,  meaning,  of  course,  that  the  stars  have  vanished 
in  the  dawn. 

A  metaphor  is  a  figure  of  speech  in  which,  assuming 
the  likeness  between  two  things,  we  apply  to  one  of 
theni  the  term  which  denotes  the  otjh^r.     This  figure  i^ 


1 1 6  Qualities  of  Style — Imagery. 

encountered  everywhere  in  speech.  In  almost  every 
sentence  that  drops  from  pen  or  tongue,  there  are  words 
whose  metaphorical  significance  has  so  faded  out  of 
them  that  we  fail  to  detect  it.  Richter  has  called  lan- 
guage "  a  dictionary  of  faded  metaphors."  Its  rhetorical 
value  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  comparison,  or  simile. 
But  the  metaphor,  briefer  than  the  comparison,  leaves 
more  to  the  reader  or  hearer  to  detect  and  stimulates 
him  to  the  detection,  is  a  stronger  figure,  and  often  has 
more  beauty.  Metaphors  may  be  changed  into  com- 
parisons. 

Direction. — Point  out  the  metaphors  in  these  sentences,  substitute 
plain  language  for  them,  and  note  the  loss  of  vividness  and  beauty  : — 

I.  The  skies  are  painted  with   unnumbered  sparks.     2.  Sir 
James  Mackintosh's  mind  was  a  vast  magazine  of  knowledge. 

3.  Charles  I.  stopped  and  turned  back  the  tide  of  loyal  feeling. 

4.  The  green  corn  hath  rotted  ere  his  youth  attained  a  beard, 

5.  Stop  my  house's  ears.  6.  The  valiant  taste  of  death  but  once. 
7.  While  trying  to  prop  the  fortunes  of  another,  Bacon  was  in 
danger  of  shaking  his  own.  8.  He  baits  his  hook  for  subscrib- 
ers. 9.  His  strong  mind  reeled  under  the  blow.  10.  Keep  you 
in  the  rear  of  your  affection,  out  of  the  shot  and  danger  of  de- 
sire. II.  The  compressed  passions  of  a  century  exploded  in  the 
French  Revolution.  12.  Antony  is  but  a  limb  of  Caesar.  13. 
This  rudeness  is  a  sauce  to  his  good  wit.  14.  Dwell  I  but  in  the 
suburbs  of  your  good  pleasure  }  15.  He  can  scarcely  keep  the 
wolf  from  his  door.  16.  It  w^as  written  at  a  white  heat.  17. 
Lord  Burleigh  was  a  willow  and  not  an  oak.  18.  Strike  while 
the  iron  is  h(jt.  19.  Ought  has  deserted  the  service  of  the  verb 
owe.  20.  Fox  winnowed  and  sifted  his  phraseology.  21.  The 
fame  of  the  elder  Pitt  has  been  overshadowed  by  that  of  the  son. 
22.  If,  gangrened  by  state  jealousy,  I  get  up  here  to  abate  the 
tithe  of  a  hair  from  his  just  fame,  may  my  tongue  cleave  to  the 
roof  of  my  mouth.  23.  Inflections  are  words  that  have  lost 
their  specific  gravitj^^  2^.  Murray's  eloquence  never  blaze4  into 


Metaphors  and  Comparisons.  1 1 7 

sudden  flashes,  but  its  clear,  placid,  and  mellow  splendor  was 
never  overclouded.  25.  We  are  to  judge  of  a  word  by  reference 
to  its  yoke-fellows  in  the  sentence. 

Direction. — Recast  these  sentences,  using  at  least  a  single  metaphor 
in  each: — 

I.  I  have  hidden  my  look.  2.  He  was  out  of  money.  3.  I 
know  Caesar  would  not  be  cruel  but  that  he  sees  the  Romans 
are  gentle.  4.  Talleyrand  was  cunning.  5.  Marshal  Ney  was 
brave.  6.  One  may  learn  something  from  trees  and  brooks.  7. 
Pitt's  fluency  and  personal  advantages  were  noticed.  8.  Keep 
the  friends  you  have.  9.  The  common  people  of  Rome  were 
senseless.  10.  Time  passes.  11.  I  have  forgotten  that.  12. 
Everything  favors  your  plan.  13.  He  was  mild  and  gentle  in 
his  manners,  but  stern  in  disposition.  14.  One  is  injured  by 
evil  associates.     15.     He  has  committed  himself  to  that  policy. 

Direction. — Bring  into  the  class  all  the  metaphors  you  have  time 
to  coin. 


LESSON  47. 

METAPHORS   AND   COMPARISONS; 

Direction. — Point  out  the  metaphors  in  the  sentences  of  Lesson  44. 

Direction. — Where  you  can,  change  the  comparisons  in  that  Lesson 
into  metaphors,  and  note  the  effect. 

Direction. — Where  you  can,  change  the  metaphors  in  the  preceding 
Lesson  into  comparisons,  and  note  the  effect. 

Direction. — Bring  into  the  class  rare  metaphors,  a  part  of  them 
gleaned  from  your  reading,  and  a  part  of  your  own  coining.  Let  a 
few  of  these  degrade  their  objects. 


1 1 8  Qualities  of  Style — Imagery. 


LESSON  48, 

FADED    METAPHORS— SO-CALLED   MIXED   METAPHORS. 

Direction. — Restore  the  color  to  these  faded  metaphors  by  looking 
up  the  etymology  of  the  words  italicized: — 

I.  The  reason  is  obvious.  2.  The  objection  is  insuperable.  3. 
The  impediments  are  many.  4.  The  plague  was  deadly.  5. 
Afflictions  are  needful.  6.  The  greeting  was  cordial,  7.  His 
manners  were ^d?//^y^^<^.  8.  Yio.  \s  ruminating .  ^,  Inculcate  this 
lesson.  10.  It  IS,  2i  salient  point.  11.  It  was  2l  dainty  gift.  12. 
His  fortune  is  dilapidated.  13.  Ponder  my  sayings.  14.  He 
supports  his  mother.  15.  God  succors  the  weak,  comforts  ^th.Q 
desponding,  and  corrects  the  erring.  16.  I  am  astonished.  17. 
It  is  wrong  to  give  such  a  man  a  farthing.  18.  Books  are  a 
necessity.  19.  He  and  I  are  rivals.  20.  The  exile  attracts  at- 
tention. 21.  The  town  was  besieged.  22.  Quicksilver  is  heavy. 
23.  Pardon  this  digression.  24.  He  is  a  desultory  reader.  25. 
The  statement  is  extravagant.  26.  We  carry  umbrellas.  27. 
The  evil  is  exaggerated.     28.   His  health  is  robust. 

Direction. — Find  and  bring  into  the  class  faded  metaphors,  and 
point  out  the  image  in  them. 

So-called  Mixed  Metaphors. — Whenever  a  metaphor 
runs  through  two  or  more  words,  it  is  always  possible 
that  the  parts  of  it  contained  in  the  several  words  may 
not  be  of  a  piece — may  not  unite  to  form  a  homogeneous 
whole.  The  metaphor  which  is  begun  is  not  completed, 
but  a  fragment  of  another  is  added  instead ;  what  is 
begun  in  plain  language  ends  metaphorically,  or  the 
metaphor  begun  is  pieced  out  with  plain  language. 
Metaphors  of  this  kind,  if  metaphors  they  may 
be    called,    are    like     the     mythical     mermaid  —  what 


So-called  Mixed  Metaphors,  119 

begins  as  a  human  being  ends  as  a  fish.  If,  for  example, 
one  were  to  pray.  Pilot  us  through  the  wilderness  of  life, 
the  first  word  would  bring  before  the  hearer  the  picture 
of  a  vessel  sailing ;  but  wilderness  compels  it  to  sail  on 
dry  land.  The  correct  figure  would  be,  Pilot  us  over  the 
sea  of  life,  or  Guide  us  through  the  wilderness  of  life. 

But  it  ought  to  be  said  that,  in  criticising  such  expres- 
sions, we  should  be  certain  that  the  author  intended 
them  to  be  metaphorical.  In  the  preceding  Lesson  we 
learned  that  the  metaphorical  meaning  fades  out  of  words 
that  are  much  used.  This  sentence,  instanced  by  Pro- 
fessor Whitney,  "  I  propose  to  discuss  an  important  sub- 
ject," perfectly  proper,  if  we  suppose,  as  we  may,  that 
the  etymology  of  the  words  was  not  in  the  author's 
thoughts,  would  be  but  a  jumble  of  discordant  metaphors 
if  the  etymology  were  vividly  present  to  him.  When 
the  metaphor  stands  in  a  single  word,  the  danger  we 
have  been  speaking  of  is  not  so  threatening. 

Direction. — Recast  these  sentences,  changing  (i)  the  first  part  of 
the  would-be  metaphor  to  agree  with  what  follows,  and  (2)  the  last 
part  to  agree  with  what  precedes: — 

I.  They  are  brittle  wits,  the  edge  whereof  is  soon  turned.  2. 
Let  us  cultivate  thoroughly  this  branch  of  the  vineyard  of  life. 
3.  The  strong  pillar  of  the  church  had  fled.  4.  The  chariot  of 
day  peers  over  the  mountain  tops.  5.  Napoleon  I.  was  of  low 
moral  calibre.  6.  These  assertions  are  only  rockets  which 
glance  upon  the  ear.  7.  From  the  throats  of  300  cannon  poured 
a  shower  of  balls  which  winnowed  the  English  ranks.  8.  Erad- 
icate the  scourge  of  intemperance.  9.  His  bosom  was  swollen 
with  the  flame  of  patriotism.  10.  He  is  swamped  in  the  meshes 
of  his  argument.  11.  Such  a  quenching  of  eagles'  talons  was 
never  seen  before.  12.  A  varnish  of  morality  makes  his  actions 
palatable.     13.  See  how  the  blue  bended  floors  of  the  heavens 


1^0  Qualities  of  Style — Imagery, 


are  frescoed.  14  He  kindles  the  slumbering  fires  of  passion. 
15.  Solve  the  mazes  of  this  dark  tragedy.  16.  He  stooped  to 
such  lengths  of  meanness. 

Direction. — Bring  into  the  class  a  few  incongruous  metaphors.  Do 
not  aim  to  make  them  grotesque,  but  let  them  be  such  as  one  through 
carelessness  might  make. 


LESSON    49. 

THE   COMPARISON   AND   THE    METAPHOR   CONTAINING 
ALLUSIONS. 

A  figure  of  speech  may  contain  a  reference  to  some 
noteworthy  incident  in  history,  in  classic  story  or  litera- 
ture, in  the  Bible,  or  to  some  fable  or  proverb  or  well- 
known  custom,  and  so  may  carry  additional  authority  and 
beauty.  Figures  containing  such  allusions  show  not  only 
the  author's  perception  of  the  relations  which  things  sus- 
tain to  each  other  but  that  he  has  read  as  well  as  observed, 
and  for  that  reason  are  grateful  to  the  reader  or  hearer. 

Direction. — Point  out  and  name  the  figures  below,  explain  the 
allusions  in  them,  and  rewrite  the  sentences  in  plain  language: — 

I.  Daily,  with  souls  that  cringe  and  plot,  we  Sinais  climb  and 
know  it  not.  2.  He  pours  out  all  the  vials  of  his  wrath  on  my 
devoted  head.  3.  The  schoolmen  raised  vast  aerial  Jacob's  lad- 
ders of  vapory  metaphysics.  4.  He  doth  bestride  the  narrow 
world  like  a  Colossus.  5.  He  received  the  lion's  share  of  the 
profits.  6.  I'll  break  a  lance  in  your  defence.  7.  He  threw 
down  the  gauntlet  of  debate.  8.  This  is  the  party  shibboleth. 
9.  Hamilton  smote  the  rock  of  public  credit,  and  streams  of 
revenue  gushed  forth.  10.  Has  the  ghost  of  the  murdered  coa- 
lition come  back  like  the  ghost  of  Banquo?  11.  Suffer  not 
yourselves  to  be  betrayed  by  a  kiss.     12,  They  follow  their 


Personification.  1 2 1 


chief  for  the  loaves  and  fishes.  13.  He  will  go  from  Dan  to 
Beersheba  in  pursuit.  14.  Who  can  clean  the  Augean  stable  of 
politics?  15.  He  falls  like  Lucifer,  never  to  hope  again.  16. 
Political  antagonists  should  not  strike  below  the  belt.  17.  Mil- 
ton's prose  writings  are  a  perfect  field  of  cloth  of  gold.  18.  I 
will  not  be  anybody's  cat's  paw.  19.  Sumner  was  a  man  of  tal- 
ents. 20.  Methinks  I  see  in  my  mind  a  noble  and  puissant  na- 
tion, rousing  herself  like  a  strong  man  after  sleep,  and  shaking 
her  invincible  locks.  21.  We  should  stop  throwing  grass  at 
this  evil  and  begin  to  throw  stones. 

Direction. — Bring  in  twenty  figures  containing  allusions,   a  part 
gleaned  from  your  reading,  and  a  part  of  your  own  coining. 


LESSON  50. 

PERSONIFICATION. 

In  the  use  of  the  metaphor  we  may  transfer  names  to 
things,  give  qualities  or  ascribe  actions  to  them  which  lift 
them  up  from  the  plane  of  the  inanimate  to  that  of  the 
brute,  and  even  from  the  plane  of  the  inanimate  or  of  the 
brute,  to  that  of  human  beings.  These  planes  we  may 
picture  by  horizontal  lines,  thus  : — 

Human       

Brute  

Inanimate 


The  figure  thus  formed  is  a  metaphor  ;  but,  since  it 
raises  objects  in  the  scale  of  being  toward  or  to  the  realm 
oi persons^  we  call  it  a  personification. 

A  personification  is  a  figure  of  speech  in  which  things  are 
raised  to  a  plane  of  bemg  above  their  own.  This  figure 
is,  as  you  see,  of  three  grades — ( i )  that  in  which  inanimate 


12  2  Qualities  of  Style — Imagery. 

things  are  raised  to  the  rank  of  mere  animals,  (2)  that 
in  which  mere  animals  are  raised  to  the  rank  of  man,  and 
(3)  that  in  which  inanimate  things  are  raised  to  the  rank 
of  man.  Of  these  the  (2)  is  the  least  common,  and  the 
(3),  in  which  things  are  raised  the  farthest,  is  the  most 
noticeable,  and  hence  the  most  forcible. 

The  rhetorical  value  of  the  figure  lies  in  this,  that  things 
rise  in  dignity  and  importance  to  us  as  they  rise  in  the 
scale  of  being. 

Note  that,  while  all  personifications  are  metaphors,  not 
all  metaphors  are  personifications. 

Direction. — Point  out  the  figure  in  these  sentences,  name  the  grade 
to  which  it  belongs,  and  then  recast  the  sentences,  using  plain  language, 
and  note  the  loss  in  expressiveness  and  beauty: — 

I.  Earth  felt  the  wound.  2.  Next  Anger  rushed,  his  eyes  on 
fire.     3    Grim-visaged  War  hath  smoothed  his  wrinkled  front. 

4.  The  Winds,  with  wonder  whist,  smoothly  the  waters  kissed. 

5.  Necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention.  6.  The  mopmg  Owl 
doth  to  the  Moon  complain.  7.  Hope  is  swift,  and  flies  with 
swallow  s  wings.  8.  Tongue  was  the  lawyer,  and  argued  the 
case.  9,  Vice  is  a  monster  of  so  frightful  mien  as  to  be  hated 
needs  but  to  be  seen.  10.  Speckled  Vanity  will  sicken  soon  and 
die.  II.  Into  the  jaws  of  Death,  into  the  mouth  of  Hell,  rode 
the  six  hundred.  12.  The  Waves  to  sleep  had  gone.  13.  And 
the  very  Stones  of  Rome  will  rise  and  mutiny.  14.  The  Breeze 
comes  whispering  to  our  ear.  15.  With  arms  outstretched,  the 
druid  Wood  waits  with  his  benedicite.  16.  Bring  with  thee 
Sport  that  wrinkled  Care  derides,  and  Laughter,  holding  both 
his  sides.  17.  Nor  Heaven  psep  through  the  blanket  of  the 
dark  to  cry.  Hold,  hold.  18.  So  talked  the  spirited,  sly  Snake. 
19.  Grim  Pestilence  stalked  o'er  the  land.  20.  Freedom  shriek- 
ed when  Kosciusko  fell.  21.  The  very  Walls  will  cry  out  against 
it.  22.  The  Ship  wrestles  with  the  storm.  23.  Flattery  spits 
her  poison  at  the  mightiest  peers.     24.  The  Sun  pillows  his 


The  Apostrophe,  12^ 


chin  upon  an  orient  wave.     25.  He  plucks  the  pearls  that  stud 
the  deep,  admiring  Beauty's  lap  to  fill. 

Direction. — Bring  in  as  many  rare  personifications.     Illustrate  with 
them  the  three  grades  of  personification. 


LESSON    51. 

THE    APOSTROPHE. 

One  may  stop  in  his  speech  to  those  before  him,  or 
turn  from  writing  of  things  in  the  third  person,  and  ad- 
dress the  absent,  living  or  dead,  or  even  objects  that 
were  always  inanimate. 

An  apostrophe  is  a  figure  of  speech  in  which  the  absent 
are  addressed  as  though  present,  and  the  inanimate  as 
though  intelligent  and  present.  In  the  address  to  in- 
animate things — the  form  of  the  figure  most  common 
—  these  are,  of  course,  personified.  The  essential  differ- 
ence between  the  two  figures,  apostrophe  and  personifi- 
cation, is  the  address.  Objects  personified  are  carried 
up  toward  or  to  the  rank  of  persons,  but  are  7iot  ad- 
dressed ;  objects  apostrophized,  whether  already  persons 
or  made  such  by  the  figure,  are  addressed. 

The  rhetorical  value  of  the  figure  consists  in  this,  that 
it  gives  variety  and  animation  to  style,  and  great  impor- 
tance to  the  object  addressed. 

Direction. — Point  out  the  figure,  express  the  thoughts  in  these  sen- 
tences without  it,  and  note  the  loss  of  liveliness  and  vigor  : — 

I.  O  Rome,  Rome,  thou  hast  been  a  tender  nurse  to  me.  2. 
Ho!  maidens  of  Vienna!  Hd!  matrons  of  Lucerne!  weep, 
weep,  and  rend  your  hair  for  those  who  never  shall  return.     3. 


124  Qualities  of  Style — Imagery. 


But  thou,  O  Hope,  with  eyes  so  fair,  what  was  thy  delighted 
measure  ?  4.  There  rose  a  shout,  prolonged  and  loud,  that  to 
the  ocean  seemed  to  say,  Take  her,  O  Bridegroom,  old  and 
[gray.  5.  Come  to  the  bridal  chamber.  Death.  6.  Blow,  Winds, 
and  crack  your  cheeks  !  7.  Come,  old  Assyria,  with  the  dove 
of  Nineveh  upon  thy  emerald  crown,  what  laid  thee  low  ?  8. 
Sleep,  gentle  Sleep,  Nature's  soft  nurse,  how  have  I  frightened 
thee  that  thou  no  more  wilt  weigh  my  eyelids  down !  9.  Flag 
of  the  brave,  thy  folds  shall  fly  the  sign  of  hope  and  triumph 
high.  10.  Sweet  Flower,  thou  tellest  how  hearts  as  pure  as 
tender  as  thy  leaves  will  surely  know  the  joy  that  peace  im- 
parts. II.  Bozzaris,  with  the  storied  brave  Greece  nurtured  in 
her  glory's  time,  rest  thee.  12.  Great  Father  of  your  country, 
we  heed  your  words,  we  feel  them  as  if  you  uttered  them  with 
lips  of  flesh  and  blood. 

Direction. — Bring  in  as  many  rare  apostrophes.      Let  them  be  of 
the  different  kinds  given  above. 


LESSON  52. 

ANTITHESIS. 

The  figures  thus  far  considered  are  based  upon  the 
relation  of  likeness  which  things  sustain  to  each  other — 
likeness  in  quality  or  in  function. 

We  come  now  to  a  figure  which  is  based  upon  the  re- 
lation of  unlikeness  between  things.  This  unlikeness 
may  be  of  many  grades.  It  may  extend  even  to  one' 
hundred  and  eighty  degrees  on  the  circumference  of 
difference  ;  in  this  case  the  things  are  diametrically  op- 
posed to  each  other,  as  black  things  to  white  things, 
things  true  to  things  false. 

An  antithesis  is  a  figure  of  speech  in  which  things  mu- 


Antithesis.  125 


tually  opposed  in  some  particular  are  set  over  against 
each  other.  Antithesis  is  a  striking  figure,  especially 
when  things  diametrically  opposed  to  each  other  are 
contrasted  by  it,  and  is  much  used  in  oratory  and  in  all 
forcible  writing. 

Its  rhetorical  value  consists  in  this,  that  an  object  is 
seen  most  clearly  when  it  stands  relieved  against  its  op- 
posite. Each  object,  with  reference  to  the  specialty  in 
which  it  is  contrasted,  is  measured  by  a  standard  less 
than  the  ordinary,  and  hence  in  that  quality  is  magni- 
fied. Dark  objects  seem  black  w^hen  contrasted  with 
things  that  are  white ;  a  short  person  and  a  iall^  standing 
side  by  side,  seem  the  one  shorter  than  he  really  is  and 
the  other  taller,  because  each  is  measured  by  a  standard 
having  less  than  the  average  of  the  quality  for  which  it 
is  distinguished. 

The  second  part  of  an  antithesis  sometimes  contains 
a  factor  which  multiplies,  at  least  by  two,  the  force  and 
value  of  the  figure.  Example  15,  below,  taken  from 
Macaulay,  would  be  a  good  antithesis  if  it  ran.  Our  In- 
dian subjects  submit  patiently  to  a  monopoly  of  salt ; 
for  such  a  restriction  the  fierce  breed  of  the  Puritans 
wrested  from  us  an  empire.  How  the  force  of  the 
figure  is  increased  when  we  are  told  that  the  Puritans 
did  this,  not  because  salt  was  monopolized,  but  because 
a  trifling  stamp  duty  was  imposed  ! 

Direction. — Point  out  the  words  below  which  denote  the  things 
contrasted,  note  how  the  figure  brings  these  things  into  relief,  and 
recast  the  sentences  without  using  antitheses: — 

I.  Saul,  seeking  his  father's  asses,  found  himself  turned  into 
a  king.  2.  Fit  the  same  intellect  to  a  man,  and  it  is  a  bow- 
string ;  to  a  woman,  and  it  is  a  harp-string.  3.  The  French  and 
Germans  have  named  their  vowels  ;  the  English  have  nicknamed 
theirs.    4.  Light  may  be  defined  as  ether  in  motion  ;  darkness 


126  Qualities  of  Style — Imagery, 

as  ether  at  rest.  5.  Truth  gets  well  if  she  is  run  over  by  a  loco- 
motive, while  Error  dies  of  lockjaw  if  she  scratches  her  finger. 
6.  1  thought  that  this  man  had  been  a  lord  among  wits,  but  I 
find  that  he  is  only  a  wit  among  lords.  7.  In  the  world,  a  man 
lives  in  his  own  age  ;  in  solitude,  in  all  ages.  8.  The  Athenians 
understand  what  is  good,  but  the  Lacedemonians  practice  it. 
9.  The  mountains  give  their  lost  children  berries  and  water ;  the 
sea  mocks  their  thirst  and  lets  them  die.  10.  Better  tg  reign  in 
hell  than  serve  in  heaven.  11.  Plato's  arrow,  aimed  at  the 
stars,  was  followed  by  a  track  of  dazzling  radiance,  but  it  struck 
nothing;  Bacon  fixed  his  eye  on  a  mark  which  was  placed  on 
the  earth,  and  within  bow-shot,  and  hit  it  in  the  white.  12. 
Kirvgs  will  be  tyrants  from  policy  when  subjects  are  rebels  from 
principle.  13.  The  Saxon  words  are  simple,  homely,  and  sub- 
stantial, fitted  for  every-day  events  and  natural  feelings ;  while 
the  French  and  Latin  words  are  elegant,  dignified,  and  artificial, 
fitted  for  the  pomp  of  rhetoric,  the  subtilty  of  disputation,  or 
the  courtly  reserve  of  diplomacy.  14.  For  fools  rush  in  where 
angels  fear  to  tread.  15.  Our  Indian  subjects  submit  patiently 
to  a  monopoly  of  salt.  We  tried  a  stamp-duty — a  duty  so  light 
as  hardly  to  be  perceptible — on  the  fierce  breed  of  the  old  Puri- 
tans, and  we  lost  an  empire. 

Direction. — Bring  in  as  many  good  antitheses.     Let  some  be  of  the 
kind  seen  in  Nos,  5  and  15. 


LESSON  53. 

THE    METONYMY. 

The  figures  thus  far  considered  are  based  either  upon 
the  relation  (i)  of  likeness  or  (2)  of  unlikeness  in  which 
things  stand  to  each  other  in  quality  or  in  office.  But 
you  were  told  in  Lesson  44  that  things  are  connected  by 
some  Qth^r  natip:al  iaw  or  relation  th^n  these,  and  in  such 


The  Metonymy.  127 

a  way  that  they  become  intimately  associated  in  our 
minds — one  easily  and  always  suggesting  the  other,  and 
enabling  us  to  use  the  word  denoting  one  of  them  instead 
of  that  denoting  the  other. 

A  metonymy  is  a  figure  of  speech  in  which  the  name  of 
one  thing  connected  to  another  by  some  bond  not  of 
likeness  or  unlikeness  is  taken  to  denote  that  other. 

The  natural  laws  which  connect  things,  the  laws  by 
which  we  associate  them,  are  many  and  diverse.  The 
most  important,  not  yet  spoken  of,  are  these  :  things 
are  related  and  associated  by  us,  (i)  as  sign,  or  symbol, 
and  the  thing  symbolized,  (2)  as  cause  and  effect,  or  source 
and  what  flows  from  it,  (3)  as  instrument  and  the  user  of 
it,  (4)  as  container  and  the  thing  contained,  (5)  as  material 
and  the  thing  made  out  of  it,  (6)  as  contiguous  to  each 
other,  and  (7)  as  part  to  whole  or  whole  to  part. 

This  last  relation  is  so  important  that  the  metonymy 
based  upon  it  has  been  dignified  by  a  separate  name — • 
the  synecdoche. 

Rhetorical  Value. — In  the  metonymy,  as  in  the  met- 
aphor, the  name  of  the  related  object  which  is  best 
known  is  taken  to  denote  the  other,  and,  like  the  meta- 
phor, it  gives  clearness,  vigor,  and  beauty  to  style. 

Direction. — Classify  the  metonymies  below,  note  what  they  add  to 
the  expression,  and  recast  the  sentences,  using  plain  language: — 

I.  Uluch  Ali  sailed  away  with  all  his  canvas  spread.  2.  The 
crescent  in  Europe  is  waning  before  the  cross.  3.  He  is  a  slave 
to  the  cup.  4.  Strike  for  your  altars  and  your  fires.  5.  Who 
steals  my  purse  steals  trash.  6.  He  rose,  and  addressed  the 
chair.  7.  The  sanctity  of  the  lawn  should  be  kept  unsullied.  8. 
T)!^  palace  should  not  scorn  the  cottage.  9.  T\\^  red  coats  turn- 
ed and  fled.  10.  The  watched  ^^/  never  boils.  11.  Tho.  turban 
yields  to  the  tartan,    12,  Iron  hailed  and  lead  rained  upon  the 


128  Qtialities  of  Style — Imagery, 

enemy.  13.  The  pen  is  usurping  the  office  of  the  sword.  14. 
The  bullet  is  giving  way  to  the  ballot.  15.  We  have  prostrated 
ourselves  before  the  throne.  16.  The  board  ^txh^  Httle  inn  was 
excellent.  17.  But  little  Madeira  comes  to  this  country.  18. 
Death  fell  in  showers.  19.  Shoulder  to  shoulder,  S.  C.  and 
Mass.  went  through  the  Revolution.  20.  The  American  sailor 
humbled  the  Barbary  flag.  21.  The  hollow  oak  is  our  palace. 
22.  Your  flashes  of  merriment  that  were  wont  to  set  the  table 
on  a  roar. 

Direction. — Bring  in  as  many  good  metonymies,  illustrating  the 
six  kinds  treated  above. 


LESSON  54. 

THE  SYNECDOCHE.   TROPES.   HYPERBOLE. 

Things  are  connected  in  reality,  and  are  associated  by 
us,  in  the  relation  of  part  to  whole  or  of  v^hole  to  part. 
The  figure  based  upon  this — really  a  metonymy — has, 
because  of  its  importance,  received  a  separate  name — tne 
synecdoche.  The  species  for  the  genus,  the  genus  for 
the  species,  and  the  individual  for  his  class,  are  all  exam- 
ples of  a  part  for  the  v^hole  or  of  the  v^hole  for  a  part. 

A  synecdoche  is  a  figure  of  speech  in  which  the  name 
of  a  part  denotes  the  whole,  or  the  name  of  the  whole 
denotes  a  part. 

As  we  grasp  a  part  of  a  thing  more  easily  than  the 
whole,  that  branch  of  the  figure  in  which  the  name  of 
the  part  denotes  the  whole  presents  the  object  more  vig- 
orously than  does  the  other,  and  is  more  common  and 
more  valuable  than  the  other. 


The  Synecdoche  and  Tropes,  129 

Its  rhetorical  value  consists  in  the  fact  that  it  puts  a 
thing  well  known  in  place  of  one  less  known. 

Direction. — Tell  which  branch  of  the  figure  these  synecdoches  illus- 
trate, recast  these  sentences,  dropping  the  figure,  and  note  the  loss  of 
vigor  and  of  beauty: — 

I.  Grace  is  said  before  meat.  2.  Galileo  raised  his  glass  to 
the  heavens,  and  beheld  the  planet  Venus  crescent  like  the 
moon.  3.  Up  came  the  reserve  oifoot  and  horse,  4.  The  boy 
left  his  father's  hearth.  5.  Yarn  is  the  product  of  the  spindle  ; 
cloth  of  the  shuttle.  6.  She  left  the  protection  of  his  roof.  7. 
Count  noses.  8.  Come  and  trip  it,  as  you  go,  on  the  light  fan- 
tastic toe.  9.  Milton's  wife  left  his  bed  and  board.  10.  The 
commerce  was  carried  on  in  British  bottoms.  11.  He  bought 
forty  head  oi  cattle.  12.  Few  American  /ceels  plough  the  ocean. 
13.  He  employs  a  score  of  hands.  14.  Miles  of  hulls  are  rotting 
in  the  harbor  of  Portsmouth.  15.  It  is  a  village  of  500  chim- 
neys. 16.  It  is  a  city  of  spires.  17.  The  harbor  was  crowded 
with  masts.  18.  He  cried,  "A  sailed,  sail'*  19.  Milton  is  the 
^^r^;// of  Sampson  Agonistes.  20.  Who  would  not  like  to  visit 
the  Old  World?  21.  James  I.  was  ironically  called  the  Solojnon 
of  his  age.     22.  The  busy  fingers  toiled  on. 

Direction. — Bring  in  as  many  synecdoches,  and  illustrate  both 
branches  of  the  figure. 

Tropes. — To  our  list  some  rhetoricians  would  add  a 
figure  with  the  old  and  familiar  name  of  trope.  In  his 
^'The  Might  and  Mirth  of  Literature,"  an  American 
work  showing  vast  reading  and  rare  discrimination, 
Professor  Macbeth  is  "daring  enough  to  seize  an  unap- 
propriated title  [trope']  and  to  wed  it  to  a  magnificent 
group  of  figures,  which  that  title  most  exquisitely  suits 
— those  turns  that  lie  in  adjectives."  The  adjectives  in 
such  expressions  as  these  he  calls  tropes :  The  merry 
bells  ring  round,  Heaven's  forgiving  rainbow,  She  wept 


Qualities  of  Style — Imagery, 


to  leave  \h^  fond  xooi^  I  have  seen  a  face  so  very  angry ^ 
Ripe  October  gathers  in  the  grain,  Places  v^\i\Q\\  pale  pas- 
sion loves,  To  hide  her  guilty  front  with  innocent  snow. 
The  melancholy  darkness  gently  weeps.  She  hears  the 
cannon's  deadly  rattle,  and  Others  from  the  dawning  hills 
looked  round.  But  all  these  would  fall  into  the  classes 
of  figures  we  have  defined  and  illustrated.  Others  make 
trope  the  name  of  the  genus  of  which  the  metonymy  and 
the  synecdoche  are  the  species.  The  propriety  of  thus 
limiting  the  word  is  not  apparent.  It  accords  best  with 
the  etymology  of  the  word  trope  (Greek  trepein,  to  turn) 
to  apply  it  as  the  general  name  of  all  those  figures  in 
which  words  are  turned  from  their  first  and  literal  mean- 
ing, are  transferred,  and  used  in  a  secondary  sense.  We 
may,  then,  say  that 

Tropes  include  metaphors,  personifications,  apostrophes 
which  personify,  rfletOnymies,  and  synecdoches. 

We  may  add  that  from  the  same  root  come  trophy, 
which  meant  the  monument  once  set  up  to  commemorate 
the  spot  where  an  enemy  turned  and  fled — now  used  to 
name  the  arms,  flags,  or  soldiers  taken  in  battle  and  in- 
dicating victory — and  tropic,  naming  the  imaginary  lines 
where  the  sun  seemed  to  turn  and  decline  from  the  zenith, 
and  then  applied  to  the  belt  of  the  earth's  surface  be- 
tween these  lines. 

Hyperboles,  extravagant  expressions  overstating  the 
facts  or  magnifying  the  truth,  are  set  down  by  some 
writers  as  a  separate  figure.  But  though  hyperbole  may 
sometimes  be  found  in  expressions  not  figurative,  it 
seems  to  us  better  to  call  it  a  characteristic  of  imagery 
than  a  separate  image.  All  images  magnify  the  thought 
they  convey  or  illustrate.  It  is  thus  that  they  make  it 
more  prominent  and  distinct  than  a  literal  statement  of 
it  could. 


Exercise  in  Discriminating  Figures,      1 3 1 


LESSON  55. 

EXERCISE   IN   THE   DISCRIMINATION   OF   FIGURES. 

The  list  of  figures  of  speech  is  now  complete.  Some 
things  which  a  few  authors  call  figures  seem  to  us  (i) 
characteristics  of  figures  ;  as,  allusion  and  hyperbole ;  or  (2) 
qualities  of  style  ;  as,  wit  and  irony  j  or  (3)  products  of 
writing,  kinds  of  discourse  ;  as,  fable,  epigram,  allegory  ; 
or  (4)  ways  in  which  words,  phrases,  and  clauses  are 
arranged  ;  as,  interrogation,  dialogue,  vision,  excla^nation, 
climax.  Some  of  these  have  already  been  noted,  the 
others  will  be  spoken  of  in  their  proper  places. 

Before  leaving  this  subject  we  shall  exercise  the  pupil 
in  the  discrimination  of  figures. 

Direction. — Study  these  sentences  very  carefully,  find  the  figures 
they  contain, — sometimes  two  or  more  in  a  sentence — name  and  classi- 
fy them,  note  their  differences,  point  out  the  so-called  mixed,  or  in- 
congruous, metaphors  and  the  allusions,  and  number  those  figures 
which  may  be  called  tropes: — 

I.  Come,  seeling  Night,  scarf  up  the  tender  eye  of  pitiful 
Day.  2.  The  coat  does  not  make  the  man.  3.  From  200  ob- 
servatories in  Europe  and  America,  the  glorious  artillery  of  sci- 
ence nightly  assaults  the  skies.  4.  The  vinous  fermentation  in 
the  veins  is  over,  and  the  acetous  has  commenced.  5.  The 
lamp  is  burning.  6.  Talent  has  many  a  compliment  from  the 
bench,  but  tact  touches  fees  from  attorneys  and  clients.  7.  Blow, 
blow,  thou  winter  Wind,  thou  art  not  so  unkind  as  man's  ingrati- 
tude. 8.  His  reasons  are  as  two  grains  of  wheat  hid  in  two 
bushels  of  chaff.  9.  Laughter  and  tears  are  meant  to  turn  the 
wheels  of  the  same  machinery  of  sensibility ;  the  one  is  wind 
power,  the  other  is  water  power.     10,     When  you  are  an  anvil, 


132  Qualities  of  Style — Imagery, 

hold  you  still;  when  you  are  a  hammer,  strike  your  fill.  11. 
Tennyson's  earliest  poems  are  festoons  of  verbal  beauty.  12. 
Save  the  ermine  from  pollution.  13.  Envy  is  a  gadding  passion 
and  walketh  the  streets  and  doth  not  keep  home.  14.  The 
barge  she  sat  on,  like  a  burnished  throne,  burned  on  the  water. 

15.  An  acre  in  Middlesex  is  better  than  a  principality  in  Utopia. 

16.  Wellington  did  not,  at  Waterloo,  expose  his  bosom  to  the 
steel.  17.  Horace  Walpole  loved  to  chat  with  the  blue  stock- 
ings. 18.  Bees  will  not  work  except  in  darkness;  thought  will 
not  work  except  in  silence.  19.  Every  village  boy  is  a  Vau- 
ban  of  snow  fortresses.  20.  Her  breath  scents  of  June,  like  a 
new-made  haycock.  21.  Hope,  enchanted,  smiled,  and  waved 
her  golden  hair.  22.  He  is  fairly  launched  upon  the  road  to 
preferment.  23.  The  bench  should  be  incorruptible.  24.  A 
pun,  like  a  penny  on  the  rails,  may  throw  the  train  of  conversa- 
tion off  the  track.  25.  There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men, 
which,  taken  at  the  flood,  leads  on  to  fortune;  omitted,  all  the 
voyage  of  their  life  is  bound  in  shallows  and  in  miseries. 

Direction. — Bring  in  sentences  which  illustrate  all  the  figures  in 
their  several  varieties. 


LESSON  56. 

EXERCISE   IN   THE   DISCRIMINATION   OF   FIGURES. 

Direction. — Do  with  these  sentences  as  directed  with  those  in  the 
preceding  Lesson: — 

I.  Dean  Swift  aspired  to  the  mitre.  2.  The  towering  Head- 
lands, crowned  with  mist,  their  feet  among  the  billows,  know 
that  Ocean  is  a  mighty  harmonist.  3.  Things  are  in  the  saddle, 
and  they  ride  mankind.  4.  Every  person's  feelings  have  a 
front-door  and  a  side-door,  by  which  they  may  be  entered.  5. 
Night  had  dropped  her  curtain  down,  and  pinned  it  with  a  star. 
d    I'll  use  you  for  my  mirth.     7.  There  is  nothing  out  of  which 


Exercise  in  Discriminating  Figures.      133 

the  tremendous  hydraulic  press  of  Gower's  allegory  will  not 
squeeze  all  freshness  and  feeling.  8.  He  was  addicted  to  the 
bottle.  9.  Tennyson's  words  gleam  like  pearls  and  opals,  like 
rubies  and  emeralds.  10.  Talent  is  a  cistern,  genius  is  a  foun- 
tain ;  the  one  gives  out  what  it  has  taken  in,  the  other  what  has 
risen  from  its  unsounded  wells  of  living  thought.  11.  His 
pocket  was  affected.  12.  Ye  Storms,  resound  the  praises  of  your 
King.  13.  He  commanded  a  company  of  lance.  14.  The 
Troubadours  were  the  conduit  through  which  the  failing  stream 
of  Roman  literary  tradition  flowed.  15.  All  his  good  intentions 
were  choked  by  the  tares  of  evil  habit.  16.  His  tongue  grap- 
pled with  a  flood  of  words.  17.  Suddenly  closed  the  ivory  gate 
of  dreams,  and  the  horn  gate  of  every-day  life  opened.  18.  Men 
of  genius  are  often  dull  and  inert  in  society;  the  blazing  meteor, 
when  it  descends  to  earth,  is  only  a  stone.  19.  Do  not  fight  by 
sea ;  trust  not  to  rotten  planks.  20.  He  condemns  the  grape. 
21.  Smollett  and  Fieldmg  were  doomed  to  lay  their  bones  under 
the  soil  of  a  strange  land.  22.  The  gown  quarrelled  with  the 
town.  23.  Disappointments  nourish  us  in  the  desert  places  of 
life,  as  the  ravens  fed  the  prophet  in  the  wilderness.  24.  The 
pew  not  unfrequently  has  got  beyond  the  teaching  of  the  pulpit. 
25.  The  advent  of  spring  is  the  great  annual  miracle  of  the 
blossom mg  of  Aaron's  rod,  repeated  on  myriads  and  myriads  of 
branches. 

Direction. — Do  as  requested  at  the  close  of  the  preceding  Lesson. 

The  rhetorical  value  of  imagery,  you  are  now  prepared 
to  see,  lies  in  this — (i)  that,  likening  one  thing  to  another 
better  known,  or  contrasting  it  with  things  that  it  is  un- 
like, or  substituting  well  known  related  objects  and  the 
words  denoting  them  for  those  not  so  well  known,  the 
thought  IS  made  more  perspicuous  by  it ;  (2)  that  the 
thought,  more  easily  apprehended  when  thus  expressed, 
is  more  forcible  ;  and  (3)  that  it  is  an  ornament,  beauti- 
fying the  style  and  delighting  the  reader  or  hearer. 
This  quality  of  style  has,  then,  a  value  of  its   own,  and 


^34  Qualities  of  Style — Imagery. 

does  yeoman  service  in  securing  and  perfecting  other 
great  and  essential  qualities. 

The  value  to  the  pupil  of  the  habit  of  using  imagery  is 
incalculable.  Since  all  imagery  is  based  upon  the  rela- 
tions which  things  sustain  to  each  other,  the  coining  of 
images  compels  to  a  detection  of  these  relations,  and  in 
this  way  begets  a  close  observation  of  nature.  It  has 
been  said  that  wisdom  consists  in  the  ready  and  accurate 
perception  of  analogies.  How  much  greater  truth  the 
statement  would  have  if  for  analogies  we  substituted  the 
manifold  relations  between  things,  upon  which  imagery  rests. 
Pupils  should  be  stimulated  in  all  ways  to  the  cultivation 
of  this  quality  of  style.  Let  the  teacher  welcome  it  in  their 
daily  recitations,  and  exact  it  from  them  in  their  written 
efforts.  Nothing  can  be  more  indicative  or  promotive  of 
intellectual  health  and  vigor,  for  it  is  the  product  of  the  ex- 
cited imagination,  of  powers  aroused  and  alert  and  rejoic- 
ing in  their  strength.  As  the  pupil  has  found  in  his  hunt 
for  images,  these  flowers  spring  up  in  almost  every  line  of 
poetry,  of  impassioned  oratory,  and  of  the  eloquent  essay. 
Especially  should  they  be  found  in  the  speech  of  youth, 
who  are  not  yet  trained  to  exact  scientific  thinking  or 
statement.  If  the  young  tree  has  no  grace  and  litheness, 
what  will  be  true  of  it  when  the  bulk  of  its  wood  has 
dried  and  hardened,  and  little  sap  circulates  through  its 
veins? 

The  teacher  should  prune  closely  here.  Let  him  see  to 
it  that  the  image  is  choice  and  apt  and  not  far-fetched, 
that  there  is  no  mixing  of  incongruous  things  in  it,  that, 
so  far  as  may  be,  it  is  the  pupil's  own,  and  that  he  does 
not  use  it  solely  for  ornament,  varnishing  or  veneering 
his  style  with  it,  but  that  he  lays  it  under  tribute  to  his 
thought — thinks  in  it,  and  expresses  himself  by  it,  and 
through  it. 


Review  of  Imagery,  135 


A  SCHEME  FOR  REVIEW. 

Things  first  Known  and  Named.     Basis  of  Imagery. 
Definitions  (Lesson  44). 
I.  The  Comparison,  or  Simile.    Rhetorical  Value  (Les- 
sons 44,  45,  47,  55,  and  56). 
II.  The  Metaphor.     Rhetorical   Value  (Lessons  46,  47, 
55,  and  56). 
Change  of  Comparisons  into  Metaphors  and  of  Met- 
aphors into  Comparisons  (Lesson  47). 
Faded  and  So-called  Mixed  Metaphors  (Lessons  48, 
55,  and  56). 

^  Comparisons  and  Metaphors  Containing  Allusions 

pc^  (Lessons  49,  55,  and  56). 

H   \    III.  Personification — Three    Grades.     Rhetorical    Value 
<1  (Lessons  50,  55,  and  56). 


s 


IV.  The  Apostrophe.     Rhetorical  Value  (Lessons  51,  55, 

and  56). 
V.  Antithesis.     Grades.     Rhetorical  Value  (Lessons  52, 
5 5,  and  56). 
VI.  The    Metonymy — The    Seven    Kinds.       Rhetorical 

Value  (Lessons  53,  55,  and  56). 
VII.  The     Synecdoche — The     Two    Kinds.      Rhetorical 
Value  (Lessons  54-56). 
Tropes — Metaphors,    Personifications,    Apostrophes 
which  personify,  Metonymies,  and  Synecdoches. 
Hyperboles  (Lesson  54). 


136  Qualities  of  Style — Energy, 

LESSON  57. 
ENERGY. 

SPECIFIC  WORDS. 

Thought  may  be  expressed  so  feebly  as  to  make  little 
impression  on  the  hearer  or  reader  ;  it  may  be  put  so 
forcibly  as  to  produce  a  profound  effect,  so  stamping 
itself  on  his  memory  that  it  cannot  be  forgotten. 

Energy  is  that  quality  of  style  by  the  use  of  which 
thought  is  forcibly  expressed.  Perspicuity  is  essen- 
tial to  energy,  since  what  is  indistinct  is  not  seen, 
and  is  not  felt ;  imagery  conduces  to  energy,  as  it 
presents  the  thought  more  graphically  than  plain 
language  can  doit  :  but  energy,  employing  these  grand 
qualities  of  style,  is  something  different  from  them.  A 
thought  may  be  perfectly  distinct,  and  may  be  expressed 
in  a  figure  ;  but  it  may  not  concentrate  upon  itself  one's 
whole  attention,  and  powerfully  affect  him. 

Not  all  Thought  Expressed  with  Energy.— In  the 

ordinary  communication  of  one  with  another,  in  descrip- 
tion, in  narration,  in  simple  instruction  of  every  kind,  the 
easy  manner  is  appropriate.  But  when  the  thought  is 
weighty,  when  its  comprehension  demands  exhausting 
effort,  when  upon  its  acceptance  something  vital  seems 
to  depend,  especially  when  feeling  respecting  some  duty 
is  to  be  awakened,  and  the  putting  forth  of  an  act  of  the 
will  is  to  be  secured,  then  the  thought  must  be  expressed 
with  great  earnestness.  The  speaker  or  writer  will  then 
be  aroused  to  strong  feeling,  and  his  passion  will  pervade 


specific  Words,  137 


his  thought  as  light  fills  the  air,  guiding  him  in  the  choice 
of  words  and  in  the  construction  of  his  sentences. 

Energy  is  assisted  not  only  by  the  means  which  secure 
perspicuity,  and  by  the  use  of  imagery,  but  also  by  the 
use  of 

I.  Specific  Words. — Words  which  denote  individual 
things,  having  a  narrow  breadth  of  meaning,  are  more 
readily  understood  and  produce  a  deeper  impression  than 
those  whose  meaning  is  broader,  those  which  name 
classes  of  objects.  One  in  his  ordinary  shoes  sinks 
deeper  into  the  drift  than  when  his  feet  are  armed  with 
snow-shoes. 

Direction. — Recast  these  sentences,  substituting  generic  words  for 
those  in  Italics,  and  changing  the  other  words  so  far  as  you  need  for 
this  purpose,  and  note  the  loss  of  expressiveness  and  energy: — 

I.  Will  you  die  of  hunger  on  the  land  which  your  sweat  has 
made  fertile  }  2.  Did  this  save  the  Crown  of  James  the  Second? 
3.  Did  this  save  the  head  oi  Charles  the  First?  4.  We  are  two 
millions,  one-fifth  fighting  men.  5.  Dogs  and  ravening  fowls 
shall  rend  thy  body.  6.  I  sat  by  her  cradle,  I  followed  her 
hearse,  7.  Who  comprised  that  gallant  army  without  food, 
without  pay,  shelterless,  shoeless,  penniless,  and  almost  naked,  in 
that  dreadful  winter  at  Valley  Forge?  8.  Will  you  behold 
your  villages  in  flames  and  your  harvests  destroyed  }  9.  Will 
you  die  under  the  exterminating  sword  of  the  savage  Russians  ? 

10.  God  is  seen  in  the  growth  of  the  grass,  in  the  movement  of 
the  stars,  in  the  warbling  of  the  lark,  in  the  thunder  of  heaven. 

11.  My  wind,  cooling  my  broth,  would  blow  me  to  an  ague.  12. 
Had  he  intended  to  make  Ireland  a  slave,  he  should  have  kept 
her  a  beggar.  13.  I  now  say,  and  say  to  your  beard,  that  you  are 
not  an  honest  man.  14.  Will  you  look  on  while  the  Cossacks 
of  the  far  North  tread  under  foot  the  bodies  of  your  fathers, 
mothers,  wives,  and  children?  15.  If  you  have  tears,  prepare  to 
shed  them  now.  16.  I  saw  the  breast  that  had  nourished  me 
trampled  by  the  hoof  of  the  war-horse,  the  bleeding  body  of  my 
father  flung  amidst  the  blazijig  rafters  of  pur  dwelling.    17. 


138  Qualities  of  Style — Energy. 

Exactly  as  you  have  seen  the  sea  leap  up  at  the  breakwater,  the 
advance  surges  over  the  crest,  and,  in  a  tnojnent,  those  fiags 
fluttered  vj\v^x^  fifty  guns  were  kennelled.  18.  When  Miss  Hunt 
or  Miss  Preston  or  Miss  Avery  or  the  Misses  Blackwell,  accom- 
plishing themselves  in  medicine,  carry  the  balm  of  life  to  suffer- 
ing humanity,  it  is  as  much  their  right  as  it  is  that  of  any  long- 
haired, sallow,  dissipated  boy,  who  hisses  them  as  they  go  upon 
their  holy  mission.  19.  Do  men  ^2i\\\^x grapes  of  thorns  or  figs 
of  thistles  ?  20.  Will  you  erect  a  gibbet  in  every  field  and  hang 
men  likQ  scarecrows  f 

Direction. — Bring  in  as  many  sentences  containing  specific  words, 
and  do  with  them  as  directed  above. 


LESSON  58. 

SPECIFIC   WORDS. 

Direction. — (i)  Construct  sentences  containing  these  generic  words; 
and  then  (2)  exchange  them  for  their  corresponding  specific  words,  and 
note  the  gain  in  expressiveness  and  energy: — 

I.  Implement.  2.  Garment.  3.  Disease.  4.  Building.  5. 
Kill.  6.  Flower.  7.  Animal.  8.  Weapon.  9.  Plant.  10.  Gas. 
II.  Cruel.  12.  Grain.  13.  Movement.  14.  Murdered.  15. 
Destroy.  16.  Substance.  17.  Songster.  18.  Cattle.  19.  Op- 
pose.    20.   Perish. 

Direction. — (i)  Construct  sentences  containing  these  specific  words; 
and  then  (2)  exchange  them  for  their  corresponding  generic  words, 
and  note  the  loss  of  expressiveness  and  energy: — 

I.  Stabbed.  2.  Dagger.  3.  Gold.  4.  Constable.  5.  Thief. 
6.  Fawn.  7.  Dazzle.  8.  Marble.  9.  Boiled.  10.  Robin.  11. 
Plank.  12.  Cringe.  13.  Breath.  14.  Bloodless.  15.  Bugle. 
16.  Moonbeam.  17.  Torrent,  j8.  Grandfather,  19.  Per- 
fidious, 


Natural  Order  of  Words  and  Phrases,      139 

In  keeping  with  this  teaching  we  may  say  that  a  char- 
acteristic anecdote  or  an  illustrative  instance,  incident,  or 
fact  is  invaluable  in  establishing  a  general  statement ; 
suggesting  volumes  of  inference,  it  may  even  take  the 
place  of  such  statement.  Let  the  pupil  illustrate  this 
remark  by  apt  quotations  from  books  or  from  hearsay. 


LESSON  59. 

TRANSPOSED   ORDER   OF   WORDS   AND   PHRASES. 

Natural  Order  of  Subject  and  Predicate. — A  sen- 
tence, Lesson  2,  is  composed  of  a  subject  and  a  predicate 
— the  subject  naming  that  of  which  the  predicate  affirms 
something.  We  write  or  we  talk  to  impart  to  others  the 
information  contained  in  the  predicate  concerning  that 
which  the  subject  names  ;  hence  the  predicate  is  usually 
the  longer  and  always  the  more  important  part  of  the 
sentence.  In  the  common  and  "*  natural  order  of  a  sim- 
ple declarative  sentence,  the  predicate  follows  the  sub- 
ject and  ends  the  sentence. 

Natural  Order  of  Words  and  Phrases.— Possessive 
modifiers  (nouns  and  pronouns  in  the  possessive)  precede 
their  nouns,  and  explanatory  modifiers  (words  in  apposi- 
tion) follow  theirs.  Adjectives  precede  their  nouns  :  if  of 
unequal  rank,  the  one  most  closely  modifying  the  noun 
stands  nearest  to  it  ;  if  of  the  same  rank,  they  stand  in 
the  order  of  their  length — the  longest  nearest  the  noun  if 
they  precede    it,  the  shortest  nearest  if  they  follow  it. 


*  For  a  fuller  account  and  illustration  of  the  natural  and  the  trans- 
posed order  of  words  and  phrases  in  a  simple  sentence,  see  Lessons 
51-57  in  Reed  and  Kello^or's  "  Higher  Lessons  in  English," 


140  Qualities  of  Style — Energy. 

The  object  complement  (the  object)  and  the  attribute 
complement  (predicate  noun  or  adjective)  follow  the 
verb  ;  the  objective  complement  (the  second  object)  fol- 
lows the  object  complement  ;  and  the  so-called  indirect 
object  precedes  the  direct.  An  adverb  precedes  the  ad- 
jective, adverb,  or  phrase  which  it  modifies  ;  precedes  or 
follows  the  simple  verb  with  its  complement,  and  follows 
one  or  more  words  of  the  verb  if  this  is  compound. 
Phrases,  with  or  without  prepositions  to  introduce  them, 
follow  the  words  they  modify ;  if  two  or  more  modify 
the  same  word,  those  most  closely  modifying  it  stand 
nearest  to  it. 

Energy  may  be  secured  by  the 

II.  Transposed  Order  of  Words  and  Phrases. — One's 
meaning  is  never  distributed  evenly  among  his  words  ; 
more  of  it  lies  in  some  than  in  others.  Can  we,  in  the 
placing  of  such  words  in  the  sentence,  indicate  that  the 
meaning  is  heaped  up  in  them — that  in  them  the  thought 
comes  to  a  head  ?  We  can,  and  for  this  reason — what  is 
customary  does  not  attract  attention,  what  in  any  notice- 
able respect  is  unusual  at  once  becomes  prominent.  To 
place  a  word  or  phrase  or  clause  where  it  usually  stands 
in  the  sentence  is  not  in  any  way  to  distinguish  it ;  but  to 
place  it  out  of  its  wonted  position  is  to  proclaim  that  a 
heavier  burden  of  thought  is  laid  upon  it  than  it  ordina- 
rily bears,  heavier  than  any  of  its  neighbors  bears.  As 
was  said,  the  more  important  words  are  usually  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  sentence,  the  predicate.  To  bring  such 
to  the  beginning  of  the  sentence  is  to  remove  them  far- 
thest from  their  normal  place,  and  to  give  them  the  great- 
est possible  emphasis  that  position  can  bestow. 

Words  and  Phrases  Removable.— When  (i)  adjectives 
which  assume,  in  subject  or  predicate,  are  placed  after 
their  nouns  j  when  (2)  the  object  complement  or  (3)  the 


7^ransposed  Order  of  Words  and  Phrases,     141 

explanatory  modifier  or  (4)  the  attribute  noun  or  (5)  the 
attribute  adjective  or  (6)  an  adverb  in  the  predicate  or 
(7)  a  phrase  with  or  without  a  preposition  to  introduce 
it  is  carried  to  the  front,  we  have  a  common  instance  of 
the  transposed  sentence.  When  any  of  these  words  or 
phrases  moved  to  the  beginning  drags  after  it  the  verb 
or  a  part  of  it,  changing  wholly  or  in  part  the  order  of 
subject  and  predicate,  the  extreme  case  of  transposition 
and  the  limit  of  energy  depending  upon  it  are  reached. 
Moving  any  part  of  the  predicate  from  its  usual  place  to 
a  place  nearer  the  end  of  the  sentence  is  slightly  to  em- 
phasize it.  Even  in  the  use  of  the  figure  of  speech  called 
comparison,  or  simile,  force  is  gained  if  we  place  first 
that  part  of  it  which  begins  with  like^  as,  etc.  Notice 
that  it  is  not  said  that  moving  words  or  phrases  from 
their  customary  place  gives  energy  to  the  whole  sentence 
— strength  is  added  only  to  those  parts  which  it  is  plain- 
ly seen  have  been  moved. 

Direction. — Name  the  parts  of  these  sentences  that  have  been 
moved  out  of  their  usual  position,  restore  them  to  their  customary 
place,  and  note  the  loss  of  energy: — 

I.  Beyond  that  I  seek  not  to  penetrate  the  veil.  2.  Two 
hundred  and  eighty-five  years  has  this  church  been  at  work.  3. 
Partakers  in  every  peril,  in  the  glory  shall  we  not  be  permitted 
to  participate  }  4.  Then  and  there  was  hurrying  to  and  fro.  5. 
Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity.  6.  A  spirit,  aerial,  informs  the 
eell  of  hearing,  dark  and  blind.  7.  A  torrent,  terrible  and 
strong,  it  sweeps  to  the  abyss.  8.  On  some  of  them  had  risen 
the  Sun  of  Austerlitz.  9.  At  ten  minutes  before  five  o'clock,  on 
the  tenth  of  Jan.,  i860,  the  Pemberton  Mill,  all  hands  being  on 
duty,  fell.  10.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  our  fathers 
lighted  a  feeble  watch-fire  on  the  Rock  of  Plymouth.  11.  Thus 
opened  and  closed  the  great  campaign.  12.  Slowly,  under  the 
rolling  smoke  of  those  great  guns,  the  Old  Guard  advanced.  13. 
Sullen  and  sulky  have  we  returned  from  the  very  field  of  honor. 


142  Qualities  of  Style — Energy, 

14.  All  my  fond  love  thus  do  I  blow  to  heaven.  15.  Me  didst 
thou  constitute  a  priest  of  thine.  16.  For  four  long  years  it  was 
fire  fighting  fire.  17.  Out  she  swung.  18.  Around  no  Homeric 
battle-field  hung  the  terrific  sublimity  of  the  field  of  Waterloo. 
19.  On  the  ridges  fronting  them  were  planted  300  pieces  of  can- 
non. 20.  From  all  their  throats,  through  the  long  and  weary 
hours  was  poured  forth  a  shower  of  iron.  21.  The  roar  of  death 
from  those  300  cannon  throats  they  heard  undismayed.  22.  The 
best  omen  is  our  country's  cause.  23.  Directly  given  it  is  no- 
where. 24.  Never  before  had  the  Arctic  borne  such  a  host  of 
passengers.  25.  By  terrible  blows  he  drove  the  enemy,  by 
swift  and  silent  marches  he  flanked  him.  26.  "  The  supreme 
writer  of  his  century"  Burke  has  been  called  by  De  Quincey. 

Direction. — Bring  in  as  many  sentences  illustrating  these  seven 
methods  of  transposition,  restore  them  to  the  natural  order,  and  note 
the  loss  of  vigor. 


LESSON  60. 

TRANSPOSED   ORDER   OF   WORDS   AND   PHRASES. 
Direction. — Do  with  these  sentences  as  directed  with  those  above: — 

I.  So  Oliver  Cromwell  held  Ireland;  so  Wm.  III.  held  it ;  so 
Mr.  Pitt  held  it;  and  so  the  Duke  of  Wellington  might,  perhaps, 
have  held  it.  2.  Beyond  them  lay  fame  and  honor  and  victory. 
3.  In  peace  or  in  convulsion,  by  the  law  or  in  spite  of  the  law, 
through  the  Parliament  or  over  the  Parliament,  reform  must  be 
carried.  4.  The  gleam  of  the  lances  and  the  glittering  of  the 
cuirasses  they  eyed  unswerving.  5.  Victors  must  we  be  in  that 
struggle.  6.  Such,  Sir,  was  the  conduct  of  the  South.  7.  All 
history,  public  and  private,  recounts  the  courage  and  the  suffer- 
ings of  soldiers.  8.  Even  so  have  societies  their  law  of  growth. 
9.  Shoulder  to  shoulder  they  went  through  the  Revolution.  10. 
Favorites  of  the  Mother  Country  they  might  have  found  in  their 


Omission  of  Words  easily  Supplied.       143 

•^  — _____ . 

situation  a  guarantee  of  the  fostering  care  of  Great  Britain.  11. 
That  Union  we  reached  only  by  the  discipline  of  our  virtues  in 
the  severe  school  of  adversity.  12.  No  more  shall  grief  of 
mine  the  season  wrong.  13.  Above  the  crackle  and  the  roar,  a 
woman's  voice  rang  out  like  a  bell. 

Direction. — Recast  these  sentences  so  that  two  of  them  shall  illus- 
trate each  of  the  seven  methods  of  transposition  spoken  of: — 

I.  Those  iron-throated  monsters  spoke  all  night  long.  2. 
Verres,  both  as  quaestor  and  as  praetor,  was  guilty  of  shameful 
outrages.  3.  They  were  to  move  now  for  that  dear  master 
against  those  unconquerable  squares.  4.  I  do  not  discourage, 
I  do  not  condemn  this.  5.  They  were  toil-worn,  and  few  in 
numbers.  6.  The  trtie  definition  of  style  is  proper  words  in 
proper  places.  7.  Society  did  never  before  witness  a  total  pro- 
hibition of  all  intercourse  like  this.  8.  The  banner  of  St.  George 
floated  in  triumph  over  their  heads.  9.  I  shall  defend  and  ex- 
ercise this  high  constitutional  privilege  within  this  House  and 
without  this  House  and  in  all  places.  10.  They,  friends  before, 
now  became  lovers.  11.  Adversity  is  the  iron  key  to  unlock 
the  golden  gates  of  prosperity.  12.  Do  not  appear  in  the  char- 
acter of  bloody,  violent,  vindictive,  and  tyrannical  madmen.  13. 
Many  and  great  heroes  illumine  the  pages  of  history.  14.  The 
compass  and  the  swell  of  notes  are  vast  for  terror,  joy,  or  pity. 

Direction. — Find  in  oratory  and  poetry  as  many  sentences  aptly 
illustrating  these  transpositions. 


LESSON   61. 

OMISSION   OF   WORDS   EASILY   SUPPLIED. 

Often  intense  energy  may  be  secured  by  the 
HI.  Omission  of  Words  easily  Supplied.— Words,  as 
Spencer    remarks,    are     sometimes     a     ''  hindrance     to 


1 44  Qualities  of  Style — Energy, 

thought,"  less  expressive  even  than  signs  or  gestures. 
"The  strongest  effects  are  produced  by  interjections, 
which  condense  entire  sentences  into  syllables." 

Direction. — (i)  Show  what  words  are  omitted  in  these  expressions; 
and  (2)  expand  each  into  a  full  sentence,  and  note  the  loss  of  strength: — 

I.  Arbitrary  principles,  like  those  against  which  we  now  con- 
tend, have  cost  one  king  of  England  his  life ;  another  his  crown. 
2.  Miscreant !  3.  No  minute  guns,  no  flags  at  half  mast,  no  na- 
tion in  tears.  4.  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant.  5. 
Cheers  for  the  living,  tears  for  the  dead.  6.  Off  with  his  head  ! 
so  much  for  Buckingham.  7.  Beautiful !  8.  From  me  awhile. 
9.  Apace,  Eros,  apace.  10.  On  to  Berlin.  11.  Ecclesiastical 
establishments  from  the  White  Sea  to  the  Mediterranean.  12. 
Down  in  front!  13.  Away  with  him!  14.  Sure  of  that.^  15. 
Hats  off!  16.  Merry  Christmas ;  happy  New-Year.  17.  True, 
the  spectre  is  now  small.  18.  Not  at  all.  19.  If  the  people  do 
not  elect  the  president,  somebody  must.  20.  No  more  of  that. 
21.  Liberty  first  and  Union  afterwards.  22.  Liberty  and  Union, 
now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable. 

Direction. — Contract  these  sentences  by  omitting  the  words  that 
can  be  spared,  and  note  the  gain  in  vigor: — 

I.  He  is  a  monster.  2.  It  is  an  unspeakable  cruelty.  3.  It 
is  not  so.  4.  America  is  young  and  free  and  prosperous.  5.  It 
is  true  that  Napoleon  did  not  with  bared  arm  rush  into  the 
midst  of  the  combatants.  6.  May  woe  betide  those  within.  7. 
What  is  the  cause,  then.  Sir,  the  cause  }  8.  You  shall  go  hence 
upon  your  wedding  day.  9.  What  news  have  you  heard  from 
Genoa .^  10,  Thou  art  a  Daniel  come  to  judgment.  11.  Chil- 
dren are  admitted  at  half  price.  12.  Rush  ye  to  the  field.  13. 
Do  you  let  my  deeds  fall  upon  my  head.  14.  Let  it  be  rich,  but 
let  it  not  be  gaudy.  15.  This  do  thou  heed  above  all — to  thine 
own  self  be  thou  true.  16.  It  is  the  cry  of  an  aggrieved,  of  an 
insulted  and  of  a  much  abused  man.  17.  Woe  unto  the  man 
and  woe  unto  the  dynasty  and  woe  unto  the  party  and  woe  unto 


Idioms,  Proverbs,  a7id  other  Quotations,      145 

the  policy  on  which  her  bhghting  indignation  shall  fall.  18. 
Thanks  be  to  God,  men  have  at  last  begun  to  understand  each 
other's  rights,  and  have  at  last  begun  to  feel  for  the  wrongs  of 
each  other.  19.  The  liberty  of  the  press  is  that  sacred  palladi- 
um which  no  influence,  no  power,  no  minister,  no  government, 
which  nothing  but  the  depravity  or  the  folly  or  the  corruption 
of  a  jury  can  ever  destroy.  20.  Go  ye  on,  Romans,  go  ye  on. 
21.  Fifty  3^ears  of  Europe  are  better  than  a  cycle  of  Cathay  is 
good. 

Direction. — Bring  in  as  many  sentences  which  may  be  stripped  of 
adjectives  or  adverbs  or  phrases  or  conjunctions  or  prepositions,  of  even 
the  subject  or  the  verb  or  of  both,  and  gain  in  energy  by  the  omission. 


LESSON  62. 

IDIOMS,   PROVERBS,   AND   OTHER   QUOTATIONS. 

Discourse  may  be  made  energetic  by  the  use  of 
IV.  The  Idioms  of  the  Language,  Proverbs,  and 
OTHER  APT  Quotations. — Idioms  are  constructions  and 
expressions  peculiar  to  the  language  containing  them. 
When  we  speak  of  the  idiom  of  a  language,  we  mean  its 
general  characteristics — the  structure,  spirit,  and  genius 
by  which  it  is  known,  and  by  which  it  is  differenced  from 
other  languages.  But,  when  we  speak  of  an  idiom  of  it  or 
of  its  idioms^  we  mean  constructions  peculiar  to  it,  and 
expressions  which,  translated  literally  into  any  other  lan- 
guage, would  not  make  sense  in  that  language,  or  would 
not  express  that  conveyed  by  the  original.  These  idio- 
matic expressions,  with  which  every  language  swarms, 
are  often  figurative,  and  always  brief,  and  pregnant  with 
meaning.     In  them  lies  much  of  the  strength  of  the  Ian- 


146  Qualities  of  Style — Energy. 

guage,  and  through  them  runs  its  very  life-blood.  Their 
use  makes  discourse  fresh,  crisp,  native,  and  forcible. 

Proverbs  are  pithy  and  sententious  sayings.  They 
are  packed  with  the  wit  and  wisdom  of  those  who  coined 
them  and  of  the  generations  which  have  used  and  ap- 
proved them.  Some  of  them  can  be  fathered  upon  great 
authors,  many  can  be  traced  to  no  parentage  ;  but  the 
children  of  some  one  or  of  no  one  whom  we  can  name, 
they  have  been  adopted  by  all  and  belong  to  all  and  dis- 
close "  the  interior  history,  the  manners,  the  opinions,  the 
beliefs,  the  customs  of  the  people  among  whom  they 
have  had  their  course."  Rolling  down  the  stream  of 
national  life  and  smoothed  and  rounded  by  it,  they  are 
fit  pebbles  for  use  in  any  David's  sling.  Woe  to  the 
Goliath  against  whom  they  are  skilfully  hurled  ! 

Other  CIuotations — thoughts  and  words  borrowed 
from  great  writers  and  speakers — may  fitly  be  used  any- 
where and  by  anyone.  One's  discourse  should  not  be  a 
patchwork  to  which  others  have  contributed  as  much  as 
he  has,  but  the  occasional  and  happy  use  of  quotations 
betrays  an  acquaintance  with  authors  that  is  grateful 
to  reader  or  hearer.  Arraying  behind  his  own  thought 
the  authority  of  greater  names,  these  quotations  give  to 
what  he  himself  says  an  edge  and  a  momentum  which 
without  such  re-enforcement  it  could  not  have. 

Direction. — We  give,  below,  a  few  common  idioms  and  proverbs. 
Render  these  in  words  of  your  own,  and  note,  by  comparison,  how 
tame  and  feeble  is  your  translation  of  them: — ■ 

I.  Yi^v^2,^  beside  himself  "^xXSx  rage.  2.  'Y^x^y got  wind  oi  \i\?> 
purpose.  3.  Goethe  set  little  store  by  useless  learning.  4.  The 
project  took  air.  5.  This  took  place  yesterday.  6.  He  had  a 
stroke  of  luck.  7.  How  do  you  do  ?  8.  Make  way  for  liberty. 
9.  YIq  jumped  to  the  conclusiojt,     10.    Whafs  the  matter?     11. 


Idioms  and  Proverbs.  147 


Darnley  turned  out  a  dissolute  husband.  12.  The  building  took 
fire.  13.  He  fell  asleep.  14.  Look  out.  15.  He  is  out  of  his 
head.  16.  She  struck  an  attitude.  17.  I  hdcvo,  s^en  full  jnany 
a  chill  September.  18.  Etymology  brings  us  acquainted  with 
strange  bedfellows.  19.  We  cannot  help  knowing  that  skies 
are  blue  and  grass  is  growing.  20.  Johnson  did  his  senten- 
ces out  of  English  into  Johnsonese.  21.  He  went  about  to  show 
his  adversary's  weakness.  22.  There  are  many  obstacles  in  the 
way.  23.  //  is  /,  he,  we,  they.  24.  Elizabeth  played  fast  and 
loose  with  her  Alengon  lover.  25.  Under  the  circumstatices,  he 
did  right.  26.  I  had  rather  be  a  dog.  27.  They  had  a  falling 
out,  but  are  now  at  one.  28.  Murder  w///^///.  29.  Now-a-days. 
30.  Methinks  I  see  my  father.  31.  The  train  7£/<3;j  behind  time. 
32.  Salmasius  w2iS  put  to  the  worse  by  Milton.  33.  From  then  to 
now  the  movement  has  been  toward  simplicity.  34.  He  was  in 
at  the  death.  35.  Newton  7e/<2i-^/// in  his  calculation.  36.  I  know 
it  for  certain.  37.  He  did  not  break  off  his  bad  habits /^r  long, 
38.  The  bridge  gave  way.  39.  He  drove  a  hard  bargain.  40. 
Bos  well  scraped  acquainta7ice  with  Voltaire  and  Wesley.  41. 
Y{^  got  well,  got  out.  42.  Luther  broke  with  Ersismus.  43.  Will 
you  please  help  me  ? 

Proverbs. — i-  A  carpenter  is  known  by  his  chips.  2.  Fast 
bind,  fast  find.  3.  He  has  too  many  irons  in  the  fire.  4.  What 
can't  be  cured  must  be  endured.  5.  Make  hay  while  the  sun 
shines.  6.  Give  the  devil  his  due.  7.  Money  makes  the  mare 
go.  8.  Charity  begins  at  home.  9.  A  stitch  in  time  saves  nine. 
10.  The  receiver's  as  bad  as  the  thief.  11.  Man's  extremity 
God's  opportunity.  12.  Misfortunes  never  come  single.  13. 
A  burnt  child  fears  the  fire.  14.  God  tempers  the  wind  to  the 
shorn  lamb.  15.  The  river  past,  and  God  forgotten.  16.  He 
who  will  not  be  ruled  by  the  rudder  must  be  ruled  by  the  rock. 
17.  A  fool's  bolt  is  soon  shot.  18.  One  must  not  look  a  gift- 
horse  in  the  mouth.  19.  Tell  the  truth,  and  shame  the  devil. 
20.  Ill  weeds  grow  apace.  21.  If  you  give  him  an  inch,  he'll 
take  an  ell.  22.  Penny  wise  and  pound  foolish.  23.  The  love- 
liest bird  has  no  song.  24.  Barking  dogs  seldom  bite.  25. 
Short  reckonings  make  long  friends.     26.  A  good  w^ord  costs 


148  Qualities  of  5tyle — Energy. 

nothing.  27.  The  child  is  the  father  of  the  man.  28.  Time 
and  tide  wait  for  no  man.  29.  Worth  makes  the  man,  and 
want  of  it  the  fellow.  30.  Save  the  pennies,  the  dollars  will 
take  care  of  themselves.  31.  Don't  count  your  chickens  before 
they're  hatched.  32.  A  new  broom  sweeps  clean.  33.  Prac- 
tice makes  perfect.  34.  A  miss  is  as  good  as  a  mile.  35.  Fore- 
warned is  fore-armed.  36.  Enough  is  as  good  as  a  feast.  37.  If 
the  shoe  fits,  put  it  on.  38.  Still  waters  run  deep.  39.  None 
so  deaf  as  those  who  will  not  hear.  40.  It's  an  ill  wind  that 
blows  nobody  good. 


LESSON  63. 

IDIOMS   AND   PROVERBS. 

Direction. — Bring  in  as  many  idioms  of  expression  and  of  construc- 
tion, without  any  taint  of  vulgarity  upon  them,  and  as  many  proverbs 
as  you  have  time  to  find. 


LESSON    64. 

THE   CLIMAX. 

Discourse  may  be  made  energetic  by  an  arrangement 
of  parts  seen  in 

V.  The  Climax. — A  climax  is  an  expression  whose 
parts  are  arranged  in  the  order  of  their  strength,  the 
weakest  standing  first.  This  order  may  hold  in  (i)  words,' 
(2)  phrases,  (3)  clauses,  and  (4)  sentences.  Paragraphs, 
even,  may  stand  in  this  order.  The  parts  of  a  climax 
grow  in  importance  as  a  wedge  gains  in  thickness,  the 
most  forcible  standing  last,  and  making  the  deepest  im- 
pression— the  last  impression  being  the  impression  of  the 


The  Climax.  149 


whole  which  the  reader  or  listener  carries  away.  The 
opposite  arrangement  gives  us  the  anti-climax — an 
arrangement  in  every  respect  weak  ;  since,  the  last  part 
being  feeble,  the  whole  is  thought  to  be  feeble  ;  since,  the 
strongest  coming  suddenly  upon  us,  we  do  not  fully  appre- 
ciate it ;  and  since  in  our  effort  to  do  this  we  are  inca- 
pacitated for  feeling  the  weight  of  the  weaker  parts, 
which  follow.  If  we  lift  the  animal  each  day,  beginning 
with  it  when  it  is  a  calf,  we  can  lift  it,  we  are  told,  when 
it  has  become  an  ox  ;  beginning  with  it  when  an  ox,  we 
could  never  lift  the  animal  at  all. 

Were  we  to  strive  for  energy  alone, — a  quality  not 
always  desirable  even  where  it  is  possible  to  secure  it — 
we  should,  in  arranging  the  parts  of  a  complex  sentence, 
place  the  independent  clause  last  when  we  could  do  so, 
since  this  is  the  strongest  clause  ;  and,  in  general,  we 
should  place  the  qualifying  parts  of  any  sentence  before 
the  qualified.     This  is  the  climacteric  order. 

Direction. — Study  these  sentences,  find  and  classify  the  climaxes, 
note  the  energy  they  give;  and  then  reverse  the  order,  noting  the  loss 
of  strength: — 

I.  It  may  be  that  the  submissive  loyalty  of  our  fathers  was 
preferable  to  that  inquiring,  censuring,  resisting  spirit  which  is 
now  abroad.  2.  All  that  I  have  and  all  that  I  am  and  all  that  I 
hope,  in  this  life,  I  am  now  ready  here  to  stake  upon  it.  3.  You 
can  no  longer  confine  them  [societies]  within  the  swaddling 
bands  or  lull  them  in  the  cradles  or  amuse  them  with  the  rat- 
tles or  terrify  them  with  the  bugbears  of  their  infancy.  4.  Civ- 
ilization smiles,  Liberty  is  glad.  Humanity  rejoices.  Piety  exults. 
5.  A  day,  an  hour,  an  instant  may  prove  fatal.  6.  Shall  an  in- 
ferior magistrate,  a  governor,  bind,  scourge,  torture,  and  put  to 
an  infamous  death  a  Roman  citizen  }  7.  The  public  treasure 
squandered,  a  consul  stripped  and  betrayed,  an  army  deserted 
and  reduced  to  want,  a  province  robbed,  the  civil  and  religious 


150  Qualities  of  Style — Energy. 

rights  of  a  people  trampled  on.  8.  I  adjure  you,  I  warn  you,  I 
implore  you,  on  my  bended  knees  I  supplicate  you.  9.  All  the 
talents  of  Charles  I.  and  all  his  virtues  did  not  save  him  from 
unpopularity,  from  civil  war,  from  a  prison,  from  a  bar,  from  a 
scaffold.  10.  We  may  die,  die  colonists,  die  slaves,  die,  it  may  be, 
ignominiously  and  on  the  scaffold.  1 1 .  To  weep  for  fear  is  child- 
ish ;  to  weep  for  anger  is  womanish  ;  to  weep  for  grief  is  human  ; 
to  weep  for  compassion  is  divine.  12.  The  sky  is  overcast,  the 
cloud  breaks,  the  rain  falls  and  deluges  the  land.  13.  Give  and  it 
shall  be  given  unto  you  ;  good  measure,  pressed  down,  shaken  to- 
gether, and  running  over.  14.  You  may  make  the  change  tedious, 
you  may  make  it  violent,  you  may — God  in  his  mercy  forbid ! — 
you  may  make  it  bloody,but  avert  it  you  cannot.  15.  Seven  hours 
to  law,  to  soothing  slumber  seven,  ten  to  the  world  allot,  and 
all  to  heaven.  16.  In  form  and  moving  how  express  and  ad- 
mirable !  in  action  how  like  an  angel !  in  apprehension  how 
like  a  god !  17.  Frederick  the  Great  found  the  men  he  had 
gathered  around  him  to  be  the  most  paltry,  vain,  envious,  quar- 
relsome, unprincipled,  and  vindictive  of  human  beings.  18. 
They  are  the  books,  the  arts,  the  academies  that  show,  contain, 
and  nourish  all.  19.  Have  I  not  in  my  time  heard  lions  roar.^ 
Have  I  not  heard  the  sea,  puffed  up  with  winds,  rage  like  an 
angry  boar  chafed  with  sweat  .^  Have  I  not  heard  great  ord- 
nance in  the  field,  and  heaven's  artillery  thunder  in  the  skies  } 

Direction. — Recast  these  sentences,  if  they  need  recasting,  and  ar- 
range the  parts  in  climacteric  order: — 

I.  The  sinews  grow  powerless,  the  blood  recedes,  the  mus- 
cles relax,  the  flesh  deserts.  2.  It  is  good  to  commemorate  pa- 
triotic sentiments,  good  to  honor  them,  good  to  encourage  them, 
good  to  have  them.  3.  Our  safety,  our  political  happiness,  our 
existence  depend  upon  the  union  of  these  states.  4.  Without 
union  we  shall  undergo  the  unspeakable  calamities  which  blood- 
shed, discord,  war,  turbulence,  and  faction  produce.  5.  The  law 
has  no  hands,  the  law  is  nothing,  the  law  has  no  eyes,  till  public 
opinion  breathes  the  breath  of  life  into  the  dead  letter.  6. 
Some  wprds  shout  a  charge  like  trumpets,  some  breathe  meniQ- 


The  Period  and  the  Loose  Sentence,       1 5 1 

ries  sweet  as  flutes,  some  call  like  a  clarionet,  some  sound  out 
like  drums.  7.  The  vessel  ploughs  the  billows  like  a  hurricane, 
her  wheels  turn,  she  throws  the  water  from  her  bow,  she  starts. 
8.  This  other  Eden,  this  sceptered  isle,  this  seat  of  Mars,  this 
earth  of  majesty.  9.  I  sink  into  the  bosom  of  the  grave,  it  opens 
to  receive  me,  my  race  is  run,  my  lamp  of  life  is  nearly  extin- 
guished. 10.  May  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth, 
if  I  see  extraordinary  virtue  and  capacity  in  any  son  of  the 
South,  and  if,  gangrened  by  state  jealousy  or  moved  by  local  pre- 
judice, I  get  up  here  to  abate  the  tithe  of  a  hair  from  his  charac- 
ter and  just  fame. 

Direction. — Bring  in  good  climaxes  of  all  the  kinds  spoken  of — as 
many  as  you  can  find  or  can  coin. 


LESSON  65. 

THE   PERIOD,   THE   LOOSE   SENTENCE,   AND   THE 
COMPROMISE. 

Discourse  may  be  made  energetic  by  the  use  of 
VI.  The  Period. — A  period  is  a  sentence  containing 
phrases  or  clauses  so  arranged  that  the  meaning  remains 
in  suspense  till  the  close.  A  loose  sentence  is  one  in 
which  there  is  a  single  point,  at  least,  before  the  close, 
where  a  thought  is  completed;  but  what  follows  is  not,  by 
itself,  complete.  It  takes  the  whole  of  a  period  to  express 
a  thought ;  there  may  be  many  places  in  a  loose  sen- 
tence at  any  of  which  a  thought  has  been  expressed,  and 
a  full  stop  could  be  made.  In  constructing  a  period,  the 
whole  must  be  thought  out  before  anything  is  set  down  ; 
as  the  beginning  has  reference  to  the  end,  and  the  end 
recalls  the  beginning,  and  all  that  lies  between  look^ 


152  Qualities  of  Style — Energy. 

back  to  the  beginning  and  forward  to  the  end.  A  loose 
sentence  begins  without  apparent  consciousness  of  how 
it  is  to  end — the  preliminary  part  has,  in  construction, 
no  dependence  on  what  follows,  though  what  follows  de- 
pends for  its  construction  and  its  sense  on  the  prelimi- 
nary part.  If  what  precedes  and  what  follows  are  inde- 
pendent of  each  other  both  in  construction  and  in  sense, 
the  sentence  is  neither  a  period  nor  a  loose  sentence,  but 
rather  a  group  of  independent  clauses  forming  a  com- 
pound sentence.  Some  sentences  are  a  compromise  be- 
tween the  period  and  the  loose  sentence,  the  point  at 
which  the  sense  is  complete  standing  not  at,  but  only 
near,  the  close. 

Rhetorical  Value  of  the  Period,  the  Loose  Sen- 
tence, AND  THE  Compromise. — The  period  is  more  arti- 
ficial than  the  loose  sentence,  there  is  more  of  design  in 
it ;  but  it  is  more  forcible,  since  the  strength  is  concen- 
trated and  brought  out  at  a  single  point,  the  close.  One 
must  hold  and  carry  the  accumulating  items  and  condi- 
tions until  the  "coming  round  "  of  the  sentence  is  reach- 
ed. The  office  of  the  preliminary  portions  is  not  seen 
till  you  know  what  they  qualify  ;  but  they  must  be  car- 
ried in  thought  to  the  close,  and  then  the  relation  of  the 
conclusion  to  each  must  be  traced,  and  the  connection 
with  it  made.  If  the  preliminary  parts  are  many,  the 
faculty  of  attention  is  taxed  and  wearied  by  the  effort. 

In  such  cases  the  compromise  between  the  period  and 
the  loose  sentence  would  be  serviceable,  enabling  the 
reader  or  listener  to  lay  down  his  growing  burden  before 
the  close  is  reached.  If  the  parts  are  arranged  in  the 
order  of  their  strength,  the  period  becomes  a  climax.  The 
loose  sentence  is  more  natural,  more  colloquial,  and  does 
not  exact  such  close  attention  ;  but  it  is  liable,  Campbell 
says^  to  languish  and  grow  tiresome,     By  an  inversion  of 


The  Period  a7td  other  Sentences,  153 

parts,  loose  sentences  often  may  be  changed  into  periods 
and  periods  into  loose  sentences. 

Direction. — Below  we  give  periods,  loose  sentences,  sentences 
which  are  neither,  and  those  which  are  both  in  one — a  compromise 
between  the  two.  (i)  Classify  these  sentences,  (2)  convert,  if  possi- 
ble, some  of  the  periods  into  loose  sentences,  some  of  the  loose  sen- 
tences into  periods,  and  some  of  each  into  the  compromise,  and  (3) 
note  the  loss  or  gain  in  energy: — 

I.  There,  on  the  verge  of  the  ocean,  hunted  to  the  last 
asylum,  the  imperial  race  turned  desperately  to  bay.  2.  Though 
betrayed,  deserted,  disorganized,  unprovided  with  resources,  be- 
girt with  enemies,  the  noble  city  was  still  no  easy  conquest.  3. 
The  defences  were  weak ;  the  provisions  were  scanty ;  an  in- 
censed tyrant  and  a  great  army  were  at  the  gates.  4.  Jenny 
Lind,  enchanting  the  heart  of  the  world,  and  Anna  Dickinson, 
pleading  for  the  equal  liberty  of  her  sex,  are  doing  what  God,  by 
his  great  gifts  of  eloquence  and  of  song,  appointed  them  to  do. 
5.  The  sea  is  a  poem  as  it  moans  in  a  sad,  minor  key  about  the 
lonely  fisher's  hut  to  the  heart  of  the  watching  fisher-wife,  as  it 
shrieks  in  wild  glee,  raging  through  the  rigging  of  the  tempest- 
tossed  vessel,  as  it  sings  an  endless  song  of  eternal  sunshine  and 
slumber  about  the  isles  of  Eden,  lying  in  dark,  purple  spheres  of 
sea.  6.  Endowed  with  a  rare  purity  of  intellect,  a  classic  beauty 
of  expression,  a  yearning  tenderness  towards  all  of  God's  crea- 
tures, no  poet  appeals  more  tenderly  than  Shelley  to  our  love 
for  the  beautiful,  to  our  respect  for  our  fellow-men,  to  our 
heart-felt  charity  for  human  weakness.  7.  Mythology  has  it 
that  Achilles,  when  a  child,  was  dipped  in  the  Styx  to  render 
him  invulnerable.  8.  Many-voiced,  yet  silent  as  eternity  itself, 
eternity  alone  shall  reveal  its  mystery.  9.  So  completely  did 
these  masters  in  their  art,  Hyder  Ali  and  his  more  ferocious 
son,  absolve  themselves  of  their  impious  vow  that,  when  the 
British  army  traversed,  as  they  did,  the  Carnatic  for  one  hun- 
dred miles  in  all  directions,  through  the  whole  line  of  their  march 
they  saw  neither  man  nor  woman  nor  child  nor  four-footed 
beast  of  any  description  whatever.     10.  And  when,  at  length, 


154  Qualities  of  Style — Energy, 

the  moment  for  the  last  and  decided  movement  had  arrived, 
and  the  valor,  which  had  so  long  been  wisely  checked,  was  at 
last  let  loose,  when,  with  words  familiar,  but  immortal,  the 
great  captain  commanded  the  great  assault,  tell  me  if  Catholic 
Ireland,  with  less  heroic  valor  than  the  natives  of  this  your  own 
glorious  country,  precipitated  herself  upon  the  foe.  ii.  The 
Church  of  God  advances  unhurt  amid  rocks  and  dungeons  ;  she 
has  entered  Italy,  and  appears  before  the  walls  of  the  Eternal 
City  ;  idolatry  falls  prostrate  at  her  approach ;  her  ensign  floats 
in  triumph  over  the  Capitol ;  she  has  placed  upon  her  brow  the 
diadem  of  the  Caesars.  12.  And  this  our  life,  exempt  from 
public  haunt,  finds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything.  13.  All  that 
Greece  produced  of  awful  solemnity  in  her  tragic  stage,  of  riot- 
ous mirth  and  fancy  in  her  comic  stage,  of  power  in  her  elo- 
quence, of  wisdom  in  her  philosophy ;  all  that  has  since  tin- 
gled in  the  ears  of  twenty-four  centuries,  of  her  prosperity  in 
the  arts,  her  sculpture,  her  architecture,  her  painting,  her  mu- 
sic— everything,  in  short,  excepting  only  her  higher  mathemat- 
ics, which  waited  for  a  further  development,  which  required 
the  incubation  of  the  musing  intellect  for  yet  another  century, 
revolved  like  two  neighboring  planetary  systems  about  these 
two  solar  orbs,  Pericles  and  Alexander  the  Great. 

Direction. — Study  the  climaxes  in  the  preceding  Lesson,  and  classify 
such  of  them  as  fall  into  the  four  kinds  of  sentences  distinguished  and 
illustrated  in  this  Lesson. 


LESSON  66. 

THE   PERIOD,   THE   LOOSE    SENTENCE,   AND   THE 
COMPROMISE. 

Direction. — Bring  in  as  many  periods,  loose  sentences,  and  sen- 
tences both  periodic  and  loose — the  compromise — as  you  have  time  to 
find  or  construct. 


Variety — Kinds  of  Variety,  155 


LESSON  6T. 

VARIETY  —  INTERROGATION,     DIALOGUE,     EXCLAMA- 
TION, VISION. 

Energy  may  be  secured 

VII.  By  Variety. — Variety  is  the  opposite  of  uni- 
formity.  Some  one  has  said  that  style  is  only  the  art  of 
varying  well.  Nothing  in  discourse  pleases  more  than 
light  and  shade,  and  nothing  better  exhibits  and  empha- 
sizes the  excellencies  of  style.  Certainly  nothing  is  more 
restful  to  reader  or  listener,  and  therefore  nothing  con- 
duces more  powerfully  to  energy.  We  grow  weary  of 
sameness — weariness  is  the  only  effect  of  which,  in  the 
end,  it  is  capable.  Without  variety,  nothing  stands  out 
in  relief.  "  If  we  hold  a  flower  to  the  nose  for  long,  we 
become  insensible  to  its  scent."  That  which  is  strong 
appears  so  only  when  it  is  contrasted  with  what  is  w^eak. 
One  tires  of  the  Titanic  energy  of  mountain  regions,  and 
at  last  ceases  to  feel  it  ;  the  tranquil  scenery  of  the  plain 
is  needed  to  restore  vigor  and  delicacy  to  his  deadened 
sensibilities. 

Kinds  of  Variety. — The  variety  demanded  in  style  is 
multiform.  The  same  word  should  not  appear  with 
offensive  frequency  ;  adjectives,  adverbs,  or  nouns  in  the 
possessive  and  their  equivalent  prepositional  phrases 
should  interchange,  as,  also,  adjective,  adverb,  noun,  or 
independent  clauses  and  their  equivalent  infinitive,  parti- 
cipial,and  absolute  phrases;  clauses  should  have  no  rigidly 
fixed  position ;  specific  words  should  alternate  with  gener- 
ic, long  with  short,  long  sentences  with  short,  complex  and 
compound  with  simple,  the  period  with  the  loose  sentence 
and  the  compromise  with  each  ;  sentences  weighty  with 


156  Qualities  of  Style — Energy, 

meaning  should  stand  elbow  to  elbow  with  the  light  and 
the  tripping;  imagery  of  the  several  kinds  should  sparkle 
here  and  thereout  from  the  setting  of  plain  language  ;  the 
natural  order  should  now  and  then  yield  to  the  trans- 
posed, and  the  full  statement  to  the  abbreviated  ;■ — in  a 
word,  no  one  form  or  method  of  expressing  thought 
should  continue  till  it  became  monotonous,  but  should 
give  way  to  some  other,  and  thus  the  reader  or  auditor 
be  kept  fresh  and  fascinated  throughout. 

Interrogation,  Dialogue,  Exclamation,  and  Vision. — 
In  orations  and  in  all  discourse  where  energy  is  sought, 
while  most  of  the  sentences  may  be  declarative  and 
imperative,  not  all  should  be.  A  question  should  now 
and  then  break  in  upon  the  monotony  of  assertion, 
denial,  or  command  ;  at  least  in  forui  those  present 
should  be  asked  to  take  part  in  the  discussion.  Break- 
ing up  routine,  and  conciliating  the  good  will  of  those 
addressed  by  this  show  of  respect  to  their  opinions,  the 
'subject  thus  brought  home  to  them  and  made  personal 
takes  on  in  their  eyes  additional  importance  and  interest. 

This  interest  becomes  intense  if  reply  follows  question 
— the  speaker  answering  for  his  auditors,  real  or  supposed, 
and  carrying  on  a  lively  dialogue  between  himself  and 
them,  whom  he  may  picture  as  denying,  objecting,  query- 
ing, or  assenting. 

If  the  speaker  is  highly  charged  with  feeling,  this,  as 
in  earnest  conversation,  will  now  and  then  discharge 
itself  in  bursts  of  exclamation,  and  we  shall  have  the  ex- 
clamatory sentence  side  by  side  with  the  declarative,  the 
imperative,  and  the  interrogative. 

In  impassioned  narration  and  description,  one  may 
even  drop  the  preterit  of  verbs  and  speak  of  the  past  as 
actually  enacting  under  his  vision  and  within  his  present 
knowledge. 


Interrogation,  Dialogue,  Exclamatioft,     157 

Direction. — Study  the  following  paragraphs  in  the  light  of  what  has 
just  been  said,  and  give  an  account  of  them  and  of  the  sentences  com- 
posing them: — 

I.  You  say  that  woman  differs  essentially  in  her  intellect  from 
man.  But  is  that  any  ground  for  disfranchising  her  ?  Shall 
the  Fultons  say  to  the  Raphaels,  "  Because  you  cannot  make 
steam-engines,  therefore  you  shall  not  vote"  }  Shall  the  Na- 
poleons and  the  Washingtons  say  to  the  Wordsworths  or  the 
Herschels,  **  Because  you  cannot  lead  armies  and  govern  states, 
therefore  you  shall  have  no  civil  rights"  ? 

You  reply  that  woman  is  essentially  inferior  to  man.  Still  she 
has  rights.  Grant  that  Mrs.  Norton  never  could  have  been  By- 
ron ;  that  Elizabeth  Barrett  never  could  have  written  Paradise 
Lost  ;that  Mrs.  Somerville  never  could  have  been  La  Place,  nor 
Sirani  have  painted  the  Transfiguration.  What  then  ?  Does 
that  prove  that  they  should  be  deprived  of  all  civil  rights  ?  John 
Smith  never  will  be,  never  can  be,  Daniel  Webster.  Shall  he, 
therefore,  be  put  under  guardianship,  and  forbidden  to  vote.^ 

But  you  retort  that  woman  may  safely  trust  to  the  watchful 
and  generous  care  of  man.  She  has  been  obliged  to  do  so  hith- 
erto. With  what  result,  let  the  unequal  and  unjust  legislation 
of  all  nations  answer.  In  Massachusetts,  lately,  a  man  married 
an  heiress  worth  fifty  thousand  dollars.  Dying  about  a  year 
after  his  marriage,  he  left  these  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  her  so 
long  as  she  should  remain  his  widow  !  Ought  a  husband  to  have 
such  unlimited  control  over  the  property  of  his  wife,  or  over 
the  property  which  they  have  together  acquired  }  Ought  not 
woman  to  have  a  voice  in  determining  what  the  law  shall  be  in 
regard  to  the  property  of  married  persons  }  Neither  common 
sense  nor  past  experience  encourages  her  to  trust  the  protection 
of  that  right  to  the  votes  of  men. 

Responsibility  is  one  instrument,  a  great  instrument,  of  edu- 
cation, both  moral  and  intellectual.  It  sharpens  the  faculties. 
It  unfolds  the  moral  nature.  It  makes  the  careless  prudent, 
and  turns  recklessness  into  sobriety.  Look  at  the  young  wife 
suddenly  left  a  widow,  with  the  care  of  her  children's  education 
and  entrance  into  life  thrown  upon  her.     How  prudent  and  sa- 


158  Qualities  of  Style — Energy, 

gacious  she  becomes !  How  fruitful  in  resources  and  compre- 
hensive in  her  views  !  How  much  intellect  and  character  she 
surprises  her  old  friends  with  !  And  yet  with  what  gracious 
condescension  little  men  continue  to  lecture  and  preach  on  "the 
female  sphere"  and  '*  female  duties"  ! 

2.  The  5th  of  Sept.,  1774,  dawns  at  last.  At  ten  in  the  morn- 
ing, the  delegates  assemble  at  the  Merchants'  Coffee  House. 
From  that  point  they  march  on  foot  along  the  street  until  they 
reach  the  threshold  of  this  hall.  And  what  a  memorable  pro- 
cession !  The  young  men  cluster  around  them  as  they  pass,  for 
these  are  the  chosen  leaders  in  the  struggle  that  has  come.  The 
women  peep  at  them  wonderingly  from  the  bowed  windows  of 
their  low-roofed  houses,  little  dreaming,  perhaps,  that  these 
are  the  fathers  of  a  republic  for  the  sake  of  which  their  hearts 
are  soon  to  be  wrung,  and  their  houses  made  desolate.  Yonder 
urchin,  playing  by  the  roadside,  turns  his  head  suddenly  to 
stare  at  the  stately  company.  Does  he  dream  of  the  wonders 
he  shall  live  to  see.^  Men,  whose  names  his  children  shall 
revere  through  all  descending  generations,  have  brushed  by  him 
while  he  played,  and  yet  he  knows  them  not.  And  so  along  the 
street  and  down  the  narrow  court  and  up  the  broad  steps  Con- 
gress takes  its  way.  The  place  of  meeting  has  been  well  chosen. 
The  Carpenters'  Company,  which  owns  the  hall,  are  the  friends 
of  Hberty.  They  have  offered  their  hall  to  the  delegates,  and 
the  place  seems  fit.  The  question  is  put  whether  the  gentlemen 
are  satisfied,  and  passed  in  the  affirmative ;  the  members  are 
soon  seated,  and  the  doors  are  shut.  The  silence  is  first  broken 
by  Mr.  Lynch  of  South  Carolina.  **  There  is  a  gentleman  pres- 
ent," he  says,  "who  has  presided  with  great  dignity  over  a  very 
respectable  society,  and  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  America," 
and  he  moves  that  "the  Hon.  Peyton  Randolph,  one  of  the 
delegates  from  Virginia,  be  appointed  chairman."  He  doubts 
not  it  will  be  unanimous.  It  is  so,  and  yonder  "  large,  well- 
looking  man,"  carefully  dressed  and  with  well-powdered  wig, 
rises  and  takes  the  chair. 


Variety,  159 


LESSON  68. 

VARIETY. 

For  a  partial  review  of  the  field  of  variety — the  substi- 
tution of  one  modifier  for  another,  contraction,  and  ex- 
pansion— we  shall  ask  the  pupil  to  look  back  to  Lessons 
14-19. 

Direction. — Review  Lessons  14-19. 


LESSON  69. 

VARIETY. 

Complex  sentences  may  be  varied  in  form  by  placing 
the  dependent  clause  in  different  positions.  This  clause 
may  begin  the  sentence  or  may  end  it,  or  the  leading 
clause  may  be  parted,  and  this  at  several  points,  perhaps, 
and  the  subordinate  clause  inserted  thus: — 

^^ACharles  La  cringed  to  Louis  XIV.  that  he  might  tram- 
ple on  his  own  people."  The  purpose  clause  beginning 
with  that  mdiy  stand  where  it  does  or  where  the  two  carets 
are. 

Direction. — See  in  how  many  different  places  the  dependent  clauses 
in  the  sentences  of  Lessons  7-1 1  can  stand,  and  note  the  effect  of 
changing  them. 

To  the  Teacher. — See  to  it  that  in  all  their  writing  your  pupils 
avoid  the  monotony  we  have  been  arraigning.  Persist  in  this  service, 
and  your  reward  will  be  great  if,  at  last,  they  attain  to  some  mastery 
of  that  variety  of  expression  insisted  on. 


i6o  Qualities  of  Style — Energy. 


A  SCHEME  FOR  REVIEW. 

Energy  Defined.     When  Needed  (Lesson  57). 
I.  Specific  Words  (Lessons  57  and  58). 
IL  The  Transposed  Order  of  Words  and  Phrases  (Les- 
sons  59   and   60).     (The    Natural   Order.     The 


pc)  Words  and  Phrases  Removable.) 


in.  Omission  of  Words   Easily  Supplied   (Lesson  61). 


O  (What  Parts  of  Speech.) 

xii  IV.  Idioms  and  Proverbs  and  other  Quotations  (Lessons 

pq  62  and  63).     (The  Idiom.     An  Idiom  of  Expres- 

^    I  sion  or  Construction.) 

^  V.  The  Climax  (Lesson  64).     (Anti-climax.) 

g  VI.  The  Period  (Lessons  65  and  66).     (The  Loose  Sen- 

.  tence  and  the  Compromise.) 

Cl5  VII.  Variety   (Lessons   67,  68,   and   69).     (Interrogation, 

P^  Dialogue,    Exclamation,    Vision,    Substitution, 

^  Contraction,  Expansion,  Position  of  Dep.  Clause, 

^  etc.,  etc.) 


Wit  and  Pathos,  i6i 


LESSON  TO. 

WIT  AND    PATHOS. 

Wit. —  Wit  is  a  word  once  used  to  name  our  intellect- 
ual powers — powers  by  which  we  perceive,  learn,  under- 
stand, think.  In  Hamlet's  reply  to  Guildenstern,  "  I 
cannot  make  you  a  wholesome  answer,  my  wifs  diseased," 
the  word  is  so  used.  In  our  infinitive  phrase,  to  wit,  the 
etymology  of  the  word  (A.  S.  witan,  to  know)  determines 
its  meaning.  The  supreme  act  of  the  intellect  is  think- 
ing. To  think  is  to  detect  an  agreement  or  a  disagree- 
ment between  our  mental  pictures,  or  ideas,  of  things, 
and  to  judge  them  to  agree  or  to  disagree — the  intellect  af- 
firming or  denying  one  of  the  other.  This  relation  may 
be  between  ideas  that  lie  wide  apart  from  each  other, 
that  are  seemingly  unrelated  to  each  other.  The  union 
of  such  ideas  in  a  thought  excites  surprise  and  pleasure 
in  the  reader  or  listener.  It  may  even  excite  laughter, 
which  is  an  expression  of  this  pleasure  by  the  muscles 
of  the  face.  Indeed,  to  produce  laughter,  the  laughter 
of  derision  or  the  laughter  of  good-feeling,  seems  to  be 
the  purpose  and  the  effect  of  what  we  now  call  wit.  Of 
the  thought  which  causes  it,  we  say  that  it  is  witty,  or 
that  it  is  humorous.  Wit,  then,  in  our  modern  use  of 
the  word,  denotes  a  power  in  the  thinker  to  detect  hid- 
den or  pleasing  relations  between  ideas,  and  it  names  a 
quality  of  discourse  which  expresses  these  relations.  In 
rhetoric,  we  may  say  that 

Wit  is  a  quality  of  style  resulting  from  the  union  of 
seemingly  unrelated  ideas — a  union  producing  surprise 
and  pleasure, 


1 62      Qualities  of  Style — Wit  and  Pathos. 

Its  Use. — Wit  is  not,  like  perspicuity,  a  common  and 
necessary  quality  of  style,  since  the  feeling  which  begets 
it,  the  feeling  of  hostility  or  of  mirth,  is  not  always  or 
often  the  mood  of  the  author.  But  the  forms  which 
it  takes  and  its  uses  and  occasions  are  many.  Often 
wit  is  belligerent,  and  then  it  strips  the  sheep's  clothing 
from  hypocrisy  or  the  lion's  skin  from  stupidity,  pricks 
the  bladders  on  which  pretension  or  pomposity  floats, 
snubs  the  brazen  face  of  impudence,  shoots  its  sharp 
arrows  at  foibles  and  follies  and  vices  and  mean- 
nesses and  wickednesses  wherever  it  finds  them.  Often 
wit  is  only  sportive,  genial,  and  humane,  and,  without 
hostility  to  anybody  or  anything,  ministers  to  our  sense 
of  the  ludicrous,  our  feeling  of  mirthfulness. 

Taking  wit  as  the  genus,  we  may,  in  subdivision  of  it, 
say  that 

Satire  is  a  species  of  wit  used  to  lash  the  follies  and 
vices  of  men  and  to  reform  abuses.  It  attacks  both  men 
and  institutions.  A  production,  long  or  short,  into  which 
this  quality  enters  is  called  a  satire. 

Sarcasm  is  a  species  of  wit  used  only  to  scourge  the 
foibles  and  follies  and  vices  of  men.  We  call  a  sentence 
or  a  group  of  sentences  into  which  this  quality  enters  a 
sarcasm.  The  etymology  of  the  word  implies  that  a  sar- 
castic expression  tears  away  a  portion  of  the  flesh. 

Ridicule  is  a  species  of  wit  which  provokes  laughter 
at  its  object,  and  thus  makes  it  contemptible.  Nothing 
derided,  or  made  ridiculous,  can  command  respect,  can 
long  stand. 

Irony  is  a  species  of  wit  used  in  discourse  which,  taken 
literally,  conveys  the  very  opposite  of  what  is  intended. 
The  words  convey  a  compliment  in  the  guise  of  an  insult ; 
oftener,  as  Whipple  says,  an  insult  in  the  guise  of  a  com- 
pliment,     Its  presence   in  ^  sentence    make^  of  it   a 


species  of  Wit,  163 


boomerang,  Lowell  says.  The  shaft  goes  in  a  direction 
different  from  that  in  which  it  is  thrown,  and  strikes 
another  than  the  one  at  whom  it  is  seemingly  aimed. 

A  burlesque  is  a  species  of  witty  discourse  or  of  cari- 
cature used  to  take  off,  by  ludicrous  imitation,  what  may 
be  dignified  and  proper.  Things  may  be  burlesqued  not 
by  words  alone  but  by  pictures,  by  gestures,  by  atti- 
tudes— by  ludicrous  imitations  of  all  kinds. 

The  mock-heroic  is  a  species  of  witty  discourse  used  to 
raise  things,  low  or  trivial,  to  a  plane  of  false  dignity  and 
importance. 

A  parody  is  a  species  of  witty  discourse  in  which  the 
words  of  a  production  are  copied  in  part,  but  the  spirit 
of  the  piece  is  changed  and  lowered. 

A  pun  is  a  witty  expression  in  which  a  word  agreeing 
in  sound  with  another  is  used  in  place  of  it.  Words 
agreeing  in  sound,  but  differing  in  meaning,  are  called 
homonyms.  Into  a  pun,  not  only  is  the  homonym  of  some 
word  imported,  but,  if  there  are  any  words  which  should 
accompany  the  homonym  to  identify  it,  these  also  are 
brought  along  to  complete  the  incongruity  and  the  ludi- 
crousness  of  the  expression.  There  must  be  consonance 
of  sound  to  produce  a  pun,  but  perhaps  we  should  qualify 
our  definition  by  adding  that  the  agreement  of  sound 
may  be  between  a  syllable  and  a  word,  between  one  word 
and  a  group  of  words,  between  two  groups,  or  between 
one  word  or  group  and  another,  misspelled  and  mispro- 
nounced, but  still  capable  of  being  recognized. 

The  wit  we  have  thus  far  been  describing  and  defining 
is  the  wit  which,  in  various  degrees,  is  essentially  hostile, 
and  is  used  to  attack  and  to  destroy.  It  raises  a  laugh 
at  bad  men  and  things.  It  is  invaluable,  almost  indis- 
pensable, in  the  discussion  and  the  reformation  of  bad 
manners,  niorals^  and  institutions, 


1 64      Qualities  of  Style —  Wit  and  Pathos, 

But  there  is  another  department  of  wit^  less  earnest, 
sweeter  in  temper,  more  playful  and  tender,  compassion- 
ate towards  its  objects,  and  sympathetic  with  them.  It 
ministers  to  our  sentiment  of  mirthfulness,  our  desire 
for  fun,  but  the  laughter  it  provokes  is  not  a  ^'  laugh  at 
men  and  things,"  but  a  "laugh  with  them."  This  kind 
of  wit  we  call 

Humor. — Humor  is  that  kind  of  wit  which,  without 
hostility  to  anything,  ministers  to  our  feeling  of  mirth- 
fulness.  Humor  is  not  to  be  distinguished  from  wit,  but 
from  the  subdivisions  of  wit  just  defined  ;  it  is  one 
hemisphere  of  wit,  these  subdivisions  being  the  other. 
That  which  distinguishes  it  from  them  all  is  its  freedom 
from  animosity.  Humor  looks  leniently,  though  with  a 
roguish  twinkle  in  its  eye,  upon  human  frailties  and 
foibles,  and  finds  food  only  for  harmless  fun  in  the  im- 
perfections and  infelicities  of  life.  It  is  a  shower  that 
quickens,  not  a  storm  which  destroys — light  that  fructi- 
fies, not  lightning  which  blasts.  For  its  effect,  humor 
depends  less  upon  surprise  than  do  the  other  forms  of  wit ; 
hence  the  productions  into  which  it  enters  please  con- 
tinually. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  though  we  have  called  wit  a  qual- 
ity of  style,  we  have  grouped  under  it  the  burlesque,  the 
mock  heroic,  the  parody,  and  the  pun,  which,  we  have 
said,  are  not  species  of  wit  but  species  of  witty  discourse — 
productions  or  expressions  into  which  wit  enters.  But 
it  seemed  best,  even  to  the  disregard  of  logic,  to  speak 
of  these  witty  productions  here  where  we  were  attempt- 
ing to  define  wit  and  illustrate  its  nature  and  functions — 
especially  as  the  door  to  this  was  partly  opened  by  our 
being  obliged  to  say  of  satire  and  sarcasm  not  only  that 
they  were  species  of  this  quality  of  style,  but  that  they 
y^ere  also  productions  into  which  wit  enters. 


species  of  Wit,     Pathol,  165 

Literature  teems  with  witty  productions  and  with  pro- 
ductions in  which  witty  expressions  here  and  there  gleam 
and  sparkle  from  the  setting  of  serious  discourse. 
Such  productions  appear  in  the  decadence  of  manners 
and  morals;  and  they  appear  at  all  times,  since  in  our 
imperfect  civilization  there  are  always  social  strings  that 
need  tuning  to  a  higher  pitch,  institutions  that  demand 
reformation,  and  evils  that  cry  aloud  for  redress.  And 
that  form  of  wit  which  we  have  called  humor,  "  full  of 
humanity,  flavored  throughout  with  tenderness  and  kind- 
ness," has  given  us  creations  which  are  an  exhaustless 
source  of  refreshment  and  delight. 

Pathos. — Pathos  is  a  quality  of  style  found  in  passages 
which  express  sorrow  or  grief,  or  sympathy  with  these. 
Pathos  brings  tears  into  the  eye  and  tremulousness  into 
the  voice.  It  has  some  natural  connection  with  humor. 
Laughter  and  tears  lie  close  to  each  other,  and  the  tran- 
sition from  the  humorous  to  the  pathetic  is  short  and 
easy.  Pathetic  passages,  full  of  tender  feeling,  abound 
in  discourse  of  almost  every  kind. 

Direction. — Classify  these  witty  sentences  according  to  the  species 
of  wit  which  enters  into  them,  and  point  out  those  sentences  contain- 
ing pathos: — 

I.  Is  not  a  patron,  my  lord,  one  who  looks  with  unconcern  on 
a  man  struggling  for  life  in  the  water,  and,  when  he  has  reached 
the  ground,  encumbers  him  with  help }  2.  I  can  easier  teach 
twenty  what  were  good  to  be  done  than  be  one  of  the  twenty  to 
follow  mine  own  teaching.  3.  What  was  Joan  of  Arc  made  of  .-^ 
She  was  Maid  of  Orleans.  4.  I  am,  indeed,  Sir,  a  surgeon 
to  old  shoes ;  when  they  are  in  great  danger,  I  recover  them. 
5.  I  had  rather  be  married  to  a  Death's-head  with  a  bone  in  his 
mouth  than  to  either  of  these.  6.  Father,  I  have  sinned  against 
Heaven  and  in  thy  sight,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called 
thy  son ;  make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants.     7.  Ichabod 


1 66     Qualities  of  Style — Wit  and  Pathos, 

Crane  was  tall,  but  exceedingly  lank,  with  narrow  shoulders, 
long  arms  and  legs,  hands  that  dangled  a  mile  out  of  his  sleeves, 
feet  that  might  have  served  for  shovels,  and  his  whole  frame 
most  loosely  hung  together.  His  head  was  small,  and  fiat  at 
top,  with  huge  ears,  large,  green,  glassy  eyes,  and  a  long  snipe 
nose,  so  that  it  looked  like  a  weather-cock  perched  upon  his 
spindle  neck  to  tell  which  way  the  wind  blew.  To  see  him  strid- 
ing along  the  profile  of  a  hill  on  a  windy  day,  with  his  clothes 
bagging  and  fluttering  about  him,  one  might  have  mistaken  him 
for  the  genius  of  famine  descending  upon  the  earth,  or  some 
scarecrow  eloped  from  a  cornfield. 

8.  Dear  little,  sweet  little,  nice  little  damosels, 
We,  the  magnificent  cream  of  society, 
Bid  you  good-night;  and  we  trust  you  feel  gratitude 
For  the  sweet  smiles  we  have  scattered  among  you. 
We  have  been  bored,  but  we  gladly  put  up  with  it ; 
Nothing  is  sweeter  than  disinterestedness. 

9.  As  you  slip  to  and  fro  on  the  frozen  levels  of  Gower's  verse, 
which  gives  no  foothold  to  the  mind,  as  your  nervous  ear  awaits 
the  inevitable  recurrence  of  his  rhyme,  regularly  pertinacious  as 
the  tick  of  an  eight-day  clock,  and  reminding  you  of  Words- 
worth's 

**  Once  more  the  ass  did  lengthen  out 
The  hard,  dry  seesaw  of  his  horrible  bray," 

you  learn  to  dread,  almost  to  respect,  the  powers  of  this  indefat- 
igable man.  10.  Why,  hear  me,  my  masters,  was  it  for  me  to  kill 
the  heir  apparent  ?  Should  I  turn  upon  the  true  Prince  ?  Why, 
thou  know'st  I  am  as  valiant  as  Hercules  ;  but  beware  instinct  : 
the  lion  will  not  touch  the  true  Prince.  Instinct  is  a  great  mat- 
ter ;  I  was  a  coward  on  instinct.  11.  Why  is  a  ragged  boy  like  a 
preacher  nearing  the  end  of  his  sermon  ?  Because  he's  tored 
his  clothes.  12.  I  have  eaten  as  many  shrimps  as  Samson  slew 
Philistines.  Yes,  and  with  the  same  instrument.  13.  Yes,  to 
smell  pork ;  to  eat  of  the  habitation  which  your  prophet,  the 
Nazarite,  conjured  the  devil  into!     14.  'Tis  true,  this  god  did 


species  of  Wit,    Pathol.  167 


shake.  I  did  hear  him  groan.  15.  The  Romans  were  said  to 
urn  their  dead,  but  we  earn  our  living.  16.  I  fear  I  wrong  the 
honorable  men  whose  daggers  have  stabbed  Csesar.  17.  There 
is  one  secret  a  woman  can  keep — her  age.  18.  Erskine  said 
to  one  who  surprised  him  digging  potatoes  in  the  garden, 
"  This  is  otium  cum  diggin  a  tatie.  19.  Of  the  Sergeant  of  Law, 
Chaucer  says, 

"  Nowher  so  besy  a  man  as  he  ther  nas, 
And  yit  he  seemede  besier  than  he  was." 

And  of  the  Doctor, 

"  His  studie  was  but  litel  on  the  Bible." 

20.  Late  upon  a  midnight  dreary,  as  I  pondered  chill  and  cheery 
Over  certain  prosy  volumes  of  contemporary  lore. 
Midst  prophetic  pages  prowling,  suddenly  I  heard  a  growling. 
As  of  something  faintly  howling,  howling  at  my  chamber 
door; 
"  'Tis  some  poor  stray  tyke,"  I  muttered,  **  howling  at  my 
chamber  door. 

Only  this  and  nothing  more." 

21.  This  child  is  not  mine  as  the  first  was,  I  cannot  sing  it  to 
rest,  I  cannot  lift  it  up  fatherly  and  bliss  it  upon  my  breast  ; 
yet  it  lies  in  my  little  one's  cradle,  and  sits  in  my  little  one's 
chair,  and  the  light  of  the  heaven  she's  gone  to  transfigures 
her  golden  hair. 

Chaucer,  Shakespeare,  Dryden,  Congreve,  Addison, 
Pope,  Swift,  Goldsmith,  Lamb,  Irving,  Scott,  Jerrold, 
Dickens,  Thackeray,  Carlyle,  Holmas,  and  Lowell  are 
but  a  few  of  the  writers  of  English  from  whom  illustra- 
tions of  wit  can  be  gleaned. 

Direction. — Bring  in  illustrations  of  all  the  species  of  wit  and  illustra 
tions  of  pathos  also. 


1 68      Qualities  of  Style —  Wit  and  Pathos. 


LESSON  71. 

WIT   AND   PATHOS. 

Direction. — Classify  these  witty  sentences  according  to  the  spe- 
cies of  wit  which  enters  into  them,  and  point  out  those  containing 
pathos: — 

I.  There  are  *  *  men  whose  visages  do  cream  and  mantle  like 
a  standing  pond;  and  do  a  wilful  stillness  entertain  with  purpose 
to  be  dressed  in  an  opinion  of  wisdom,  gravity,  profound  con- 
ceit ;  as  who  should  say,  **  I  am  Sir  Oracle,  and  when  I  ope  my  lips, 
let  no  dog  bark."  2.  Ichabod  rode  with  short  stirrups,  which 
brought  his  knees  nearly  up  to  the  pommel  of  the  saddle  ;  his 
sharp  elbows  stuck  out  like  grasshoppers' ;  he  carried  his  whip 
perpendicularly  in  his  hand,  like  a  sceptre  ;  and,  as  his  horse 
jogged  on,  the  motion  of  his  arms  was  not  unlike  the  flapping 
of  a  pair  of  wings.  A  small  wool  hat  rested  on  the  top  of  his 
nose, — for  so  his  scanty  strip  of  forehead  might  be  called — and 
the  skirts  of  his  black  coat  fluttered  out  almost  to  the  horse's 
tail.  3.  Making  light  of  serious  things  is  a  very  wicked  matter. 
4.  "  Do  you  know  what  happened  to  Balaam  ?"  said  a  would-be 
wit  to  Coleridge,  as  the  poet  was  riding  along  the  street.  "  The 
same  that  has  happened  to  me — an  ass  Spoke  to  him."  5.  The 
atrocious  crime  of  being  a  young  man,  which  the  honorable 
gentleman  has  with  such  spirit  and  decency  charged  upon  me, 
1  shall  attempt  neither  to  palliate  nor  to  deny.  6.  Down  the 
long  street  he  walked,  as  one  who  said,  "  A  town  that  boasts  in- 
habitants like  me  can  have  no  lack  of  good  society."  7.  Hector 
should  have  a  great  catch,  if  he  knock  out  either  of  your 
brains  ;  he  were  as  good  crack  a  fusty  nut  with  no  kernel.  8. 
"You  must  be  either  a  knave  or  a  fool,"  said  two  lawyers  to  an 
Irishman  sitting  between  them.  "  No,  I'm  between  both  "  was 
the  reply.  9.  '*  Nay,  Sir,  it  was  not  the  wine  that  made  your  head 
ache,  but  the  sense  I  put  into  it."  "What,  Sir,  will  sense  make 
the  head  ache  .^"     "  Yes,  Sir,  when  it  is  not  used  to  it." 


species  of  Wit,    Pathos,  169 

10.  Should  you  ask  me  where  I  found  it, 
Found  this  song,  perhaps  so  stupid, 
Found  this  most  abusive  epic, 
I  should  answer,  I  should  tell  you 
That  I  found  it  at  my  Uncle's, 
Number  one,  around  the  corner, 
In  a  paper,  in  a  pocket. 
In  a  coat,  within  a  bundle. 
Tied  up,  ticketed  and  labelled. 
Labelled  by  my  careful  Uncle. 

II.  O  my  son  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son  Absalom!  would 
God  I  had  died  for  thee,  O  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son !  12. 
Dear,  gentle,  patient,  noble  Nell  was  dead.  Her  little  bird — a 
poor,  slight  thing  the  pressure  of  a  finger  would  have  crushed — 
was  stirring  nimbly  in  its  cage  ;  and  the  strong  heart  of  its  child- 
mistress  was  mute  and  motionless  forever. 

13.  "  Three  sons  had  I,  three,  wretched  three ;  and  now  not  one 

is  left  to  me. 
Out  of  his  hole  the  watching  cat  dragged  one, — a  curst 

mishap  ; 
And  monster  man,  with  cunning  fraught,  my  second  in  an 

engine  caught, 
A  new-invented,  mouse-destroying  engine,  called  a  trap. 
We  had   this   third,  our   darling,  sad  to  me  and   to  his 

mother  sad. 

But  let  us  arm  and  arm  with  speed,  for  this  the  villain  frog 
shall  bleed ; 

Arm,  arm,  be  clad  in  mail  -complete,  and  let  us  vengeance 
take," 

He  said.  At  once  to  arms,  they  flew,  and  Mars  himself 
their  weapons  drew. 

Split  bean-shells  green  served  them  for  greaves,  which 
they  were  nibbling  at 

Deftly  all  night ;  a  cat's  stout  hide  their  breastplates  hap- 
pily supplied, 


1 70     Qualities  of  Style —  Wit  and  Pathos. 


Strengthened  with  interlacing  reeds ;  right  glad  they  skin- 
ned the  cat ; 

The  oval  of  a  lamp  their  shield ;  the  needle  for  a  lance 
they  wield, 

Long  piercing  keen,  nor  Mars  a  sharper  weapon  sported ; 

Nor  helmet  fitted  e'er  so  well,  as  on  their  heads  the  walnut- 
shell. 

14.  The  waters  have  gone  over  me.  But  out  of  the  black 
depths,  could  I  be  heard,  I  would  cry  out  to  all  those  who  have 
but  set  a  foot  in  the  perilous  flood.  Could  the  youth,  to  whom 
the  flavor  of  his  first  wine  is  delicious  as  the  opening  scenes  of 
life  or  the  entering  upon  some  newly  discovered  paradise,  look 
into  my  desolation,  and  be  made  to  understand  what  a  dreary 
thing  it  is  when  a  man  shall  feel  himself  going  down  a  precipice 
with  open  eyes  and  a  passive  will, — to  see  his  destruction  and 
have  no  power  to  stop  it,  and  yet  to  feel  it  all  the  way  emanat- 
ing from  himself ;  to  perceive  all  goodness  emptied  out  of  him, 
and  yet  not  to  be  able  to  forget  a  time  when  it  was  otherwise  ; 
to  bear  about  the  piteous  spectacle  of  his  own  self-ruins  ; — could 
he  see  my  fevered  eye,  feverish  with  last  night's  drinking,  and 
feverishly  looking  for  this  night's  repetition  of  the  folly  ;  could 
he  feel  the  body  of  the  death  out  of  which  I  cry  hourly  with 
feebler  and  feebler  outcry  to  be  delivered  ; — it  were  enough  to 
make  him  dash  the  sparkling  beverage  to  the  earth  in  all  the 
pride  of  its  mantling  temptation  ;  to  make  him  clasp  his  teeth;, 

and  not  undo  'em 
To  suffer  wet  damnation  to  run  thro'  'em. 

15.  Day  hath  put  on  his  jacket,  and  around 
His  burning  bosom  buttoned  it  with  stars. 
Here  will  I  lay  me  on  the  velvet  grass 
That  is  like  padding  to  earth's  meagre  ribs. 

Direction. — Bring  in  illustrations  of  all  the  species  of  wit  and  illus- 
trations of  pathos  also. 


Etegt 


nnce. 


171 


m 

o  +j 

^  o 

^  O 


A   SCHEME   FOR   REVIEW. 

Wit — Its  Definition  and  Use. 
Pathos— Its  Definition  and  Use. 
I.  Satire. 
IL  Sarcasm. 

III.  Ridicule. 

IV.  Irony. 
V.  Humor. 

I.  A  Burlesque. 
IL  The  Mock-Heroic. 

III.  A  Parody. 

IV.  A  Pun. 


LESSON  T2. 

ELEGANCE. 

In  ordinary  prose,  style  is  wholly  in  the  service  of  the 
thought.  Its  worth  is  measured  by  the  degree  in  which 
it  makes  the  thought  distinct  or  forcible,  and  forgets  itself 
in  this  service.  Here  that  is  regarded  as  the  best  style 
which  does  not  attract  attention  to  itself,  but  leaves  that 
for  the  thought.  But  style,  while  serving  the  thought, 
may  do  it  with  a  consciousness  that  it  has  a  value  inde- 
pendent of  the  service  rendered  by  it.  The  beautiful 
color  of  the  horse,  its  grace  of  form,  its  style  and  carriage 
do  not  pull  at  the  traces,  are  no  part  of  the  beast  as  a 
working  animal;  but  they  are  qualities  so  valuable  as  to 
be  secured  at  almost  any  cost. 


17^  Qualities  of  Style — EleganU, 

Elegance  is  that  quality  of  style  which  shows  itself  in 
grace  and  beauty  of  expression.  In  its  rarest  form  it  is 
found  in  poetry,  the  most  artistic  species  of  literature, 
and  is  not  sought  after  with  such  anxious  quest  in  prose 
— prose  which  does  common  day-labor,  the  work  of  the 
artisan  rather  than  that  of  the  artist.  Elegance  is  the 
highest  and  most  delicate  quality  of  style,  the  one  most 
difficult  of  attainment,  and  the  one  last  attained.  The 
era  of  elegant  prose  in  national  life  comes  when  the 
rough,  pioneer  work  has  been  done,  when  disturbing 
questions  no  longer  excite  and  absorb  the  thinkers,  and 
when  the  friction  of  parties  has  been  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum. The  amenities  and  refinements  of  style  can  be 
reached  only  when  energy  has  in  a  measure  subsided,  as 
ease  and  leisure  follow,  but  do  not  precede,  struggle  and 
competence.  In  a  writer,  elegance  is  the  outcome  of 
high  culture,  perfect  self-possession,  a  tranquil  theme 
and  complete  mastery  of  it. 

Its  Requisites. — I.  There  must  be  beauty  in  one's 
thought  if  he  would  have  beauty  in  its  expression — the 
soul  within  does  much  to  fashion  the  body  it  inhabits. 

II.  Words  must  be  chosen  with  regard  to  beauty  and 
euphony.  The  verbal  resources  of  the  English  for  varied 
expression  are  great.  In  its  composite  vocabulary,  words 
of  Romance  and  words  of  Teutonic  origin — the  smooth, 
mellifluous  words  of  the  indolent  Southern  races  and  the 
harsh,  vigorous  words  of  the  energetic  Northern  nations 
— stand  side  by  side.  Our  vocabulary  has  recruited 
itself  from  the  speech  of  every  people  and  literature  with 
which  the  English  race  has  had  communication.  All 
needful,  we  had  almost  said,  all  conceivable,  sounds  rep- 
resented by  vowels  and  consonants,  single  and  in  combi- 
nation, are  in  our  words — words,  some  of  which  glide 
from  the  tongue,  and  some  of  which  must  be  ejaculated. 


The  Requisites  of  Elegance.  i  *]'X, 

In  English,  better,  perhaps,  than  in  any  other  tongue, 
living  or  dead,  words  can  be  found  which  are  an  ''  echo 
to  the  sense,"  let  the  sense  be  what  it  will,  (i)  Rapid 
motion  and  (2)  slow  motion,  (3)  ease  and  (4)  difficulty  of 
effort,  (5)  smoothness  and  (6)  harshness,  (7)  the  agree- 
able and  (8)  the  disagreeable  in  things,  and  (9)  size  can, 
to  a  degree,  be  imitated  by  words  combined  into  sen- 
tences. Every  passion  and  every  thought  can  be  uttered 
in  language  especially  appropriate  to  it.  From  this  rich 
diversity  in  our  vocabulary,  it  happens  that  the  felicity 
of  diction,  aptly  used,  is  at  once  seen,  since  every  kind 
of  it  is  set  off  by  some  other  differing  from  it.  When  the 
words  of  a  language  are  mainly  euphonious  or  harsh, 
short  or  long,  weak  or  forcible,  there  can  be  little  beauty 
arising  from  the  fitness  in  sound  of  the  word  to  the  idea, 
because  there  can  be  little  or  no  contrast.  Elegance 
requires  the  choice  of  words  which  are  agreeable  to  the 
ear. 

III.  There  must  be  beauty  in  the  imagery.  While  we 
insist  that  no  figure  of  speech  should  be  used,  like  ear- 
drops, merely  to  adorn,  it  is  true  that  no  image  need  en- 
list wholly  in  the  service  of  the  thought.  It  may  minis- 
ter to  our  taste,  gratify  our  craving  for  the  beautiful,  and 
this  without  neglecting  its  duty  to  the  thought — a  velvet 
dress  does  not  forget  to  keep  one  warm  while  it  is  doing 
its  best  to  please  the  eye. 

IV.  Elegance  allows  alliteration.— While  in  a  prose 
sentence  words  which  sound  alike  are  offensive,  it  is 
allowable,  because  agreeable  to  the  ear,  to  begin  several 
successive  words  with  the  same  letter.  Alliteration,  the 
repetition  of  the  same  letter  at  the  beginning  of  succes- 
sive words,  or  words  near  each  other,  if  not  frequent, 
and  obviously  striven  for,  contributes  to  elegance. 

Vf  The  sentence  may  be  long^,  but  it  must  be  smootb  ^ncj 


1 74  Qualities  of  Style — Elegance, 

flowing.  Energy  is  sometimes  impatient  of  long  sen- 
tences, and  coils  its  expression  up  into  briefest  compass, 
ready  to  be  hurled  at  the  mark  ;  but  elegance,  insisting 
only  that  the  sentence  shall  move  smoothly,  leisurely, 
and  without  apparent  effort,  allows  it  to  run  over  long 
stretches  without  stopping.  Its  parts  must  not  be  sep- 
arated and  something  more  or  less  parenthetical  be 
crowded  in  between,  compelling  the  reader  to  dismount 
from  the  main  thought  only  to  leap  back  into  the  saddle 
when  this  thought  is  resumed. 

VI.  The  use  of  rhythm  contributes  to  elegance.  Prose 
rhythm  is  that  quality  in  a  sentence  which  requires  of 
the  one  reading  it  aloud  a  rise  and  a  fall  of  the  voice. 
The  reader  climbs  one  side  of  a  hill  and  descends  on  the 
other.  The  parts  of  the  sentence  are  nicely  balanced, 
often  turning  on  the  pivot  of  a  but.  This  quality  is  most 
frequently  seen  in  sentences  containing  antitheses. 

Direction. — Study  these  sentences,  point  out  those  possessing  ele- 
gance, tell  what  gives  them  this  quality,  and  show  what  is  imitated  by 
the  remaining  sentences: — 

I.  The  everlasting  gates  of  heaven  opened  wide  to  let  him 
pass  forth;  and,  clothed  with  majesty,  and  accompanied  with 
thousands  of  seraphim  and  cherubim,  anxious  to  behold  the 
great  work  to  be  done,  he  does  go  forth,  far  into  that  very  Chaos 
through  which  the  rebel  angels  have  so  recently  fallen,  and 
which  now  intervenes  between  Heaven  and  Hell.  2.  While 
the  wild  wind  went  moaning  everywhere,  lamenting  the  dead 
children  of  the  air.  3.  Up  the  high  hill  he  heaves  a  huge,  round 
stone.  4.  He  listened  to  the  song  of  the  Syrens,  yet  he  glided 
by  without  being  seduced  to  their  shore.  5.  You  common  cry 
of  curs !  whose  breath  I  hate  as  reek  o'  the  rotten  fens,  whose 
loves  I  prize  as  the  dead  carcasses  of  unburied  men !  6.  Chau- 
cer's best  tales  run  on  Hke  one  of  our  inland  rivers,  sometimes 
h^^tening  a  Jittle  ^n(}  turning  upon  them3elve§  in  eddies  that 


Examples  of  Elegance.  175 

dimple,  without  retarding,  the  current;  sometimes  loitering 
smoothly,  while  here  and  there  a  quiet  thought,  a  tender  feeling, 
a  pleasant  image,  or  a  golden-hearted  verse  opens  quietly  as  a 
water-lily  to  float  on  the  surface  without  breaking  it  into  ripple. 
7  I  sift  the  snow  on  the  mountains  below,  and  their  great  pines 
groan  aghast;  and  all  the  night  'tis  my  pillow  white,  while  I 
sleep  in  the  arms  of  the  blast.  Sublime  on  the  towers  of  my 
skyey  bowers,  lightning,  my  pilot,  sits  ;  in  a  cavern  under  is  fet- 
tered the  thunder,  it  struggles  and  howls  at  fits.  8.  Now  soft 
on  the  sand,  now  loud  on  the  ledge,  is  heard  the  tramp  of  his 
steed  as  he  rides.  9.  Here  they  used  to  sit  in  the  shade  through 
a  long,  lazy  summer's  day,  talking  listlessly  over  village  gossip, 
or  telling  endless,  sleepy  stories  about  nothing.  10.  And  dash- 
ing soft  from  rocks  around,  bubbling  runnels  joined  the  sound. 
II.  The  leper  no  longer  crouched  by  his  side,  but  stood  before 
him  glorified,  shining  and  tall  and  fair  and  straight  as  the  pillar 
that  stood  by  the  beautiful  gate.  12.  Nor  is  my  admiration 
awakened  by  her  armies  mustered  for  the  battles  of  Europe,  her 
navies  overshadowing  the  ocean,  or  her  empire  grasping  the 
farthest  East.  13.  Though  he  who  utters  this  should  die,  yet 
the  immortal  fire  shall  outlast  the  humble  organ  who  conveys 
it ;  and  the  breath  of  liberty,  like  the  word  of  the  holy  man, 
will  not  die  with  the  prophet,  but  will  survive  him.  14.  Meas- 
ured by  any  high  standard  of  imagination.  Pope  will  be  found 
wanting  ;  tried  by  any  test  of  wit,  he  is  unrivalled.  15.  There's 
a  dance  of  leaves  in  that  aspen  bower,  there's  a  titter  of  winds  in 
that  beechen  tree,  there's  a  smile  on  the  fruit,  and  a  smile  on 
the  flower,  and  a  laugh  from  the  brook  that  runs  to  the  sea.  16. 
As  the  soft  air  steals  in,  and  envelops  everything  in  the  world,  so 
that  the  trees  and  the  hills  and  the  rivers,  the  cities,  the  crops, 
and  the  sea  are  made  remote  and  delicate  and  beautiful  by  its 
pure  baptism, — so,  over  all  the  events  of  our  lives,  comforting,  re- 
fining, and  elevating,  falls,  like  a  benediction,  the  remembrance  of 
our  cousin  the  curate.  1 7.  There  are  no  fields  of  amaranth  on  this 
side  of  the  grave  ;  there  are  no  voices,  O  Rhodope,  that  are  not 
soon  mute,  however  tuneful ;  there  is  no  nanie,  with  whatever 


1 76  Qualities  of  Style — Elegance, 


emphasis  of  passionate  love  repeated,  of  which  the  echo  is  not 
faint  at  last. 

Direction. — Bring  in  sentences  containing  the  several  requisites  of 
elegance,  and  others  whose  sound  is  an  "echo  to  the  sense." 


LESSON  73. 

ELEGANCE. 

Direction. — Do  with  these  sentences  as  directed  with  those  in  Lesson 
72:- 

I.  The  waters  wild  went  o'er  his  child,  and  he  was  left  lament- 
ing. 2.  And  the  rain  descended  and  the  floods  came  and  the 
winds  blew  and  beat  upon  that  house,  and  it  fell,  and  great  was 
the  fall  of  it.  3.  Ye  that  pipe  and  ye  that  play,  ye  that  through 
your  hearts  to-day  feel  the  gladness  of  the  May.  4.  And  thou, 
all-shaking  Thunder,  strike  flat  the  thick  rotundity  o'  the  world. 
5  In  one  rude  clash  he  struck  the  lyre,  and  swept  with  hurried 
hand  the  strings.  6.  But  far  below  I  beheld  tremulously  vibrat- 
ing on  the  bosom  of  some  half-hidden  lake,  a  golden  pillar  of 
solar  splendor  which  had  escaped  through  rifts  and  rents  in  the 
clouds  that  to  me  were  as  invisible  as  the  sun  himself.  7.  She, 
crowned  with  olive  green,  came  softly  sliding  down  through  the 
turning  sphere,  his  ready  harbinger,  with  turtle  wing  the  amo- 
rous clouds  dividing :  and,  waving  wide  her  myrtle  wand,  she 
strikes  a  universal  peace  through  sea  and  land.  8.  They  my 
lowing  followed  through  tooth'd  briers,  sharp  furzes,  prick- 
ing gorse,  and  thorns  which  entered  their  frail  shins.  9.  The 
cloud-capped  towers,  the  gorgeous  palaces,  the  solemn  temples, 
the  great  globe  itself,  yea,  all  which  it  inherit  shall  dissolve,  and, 
like  this  insubstantial  pageant  faded,  leave  not  a  rack  behind. 
10,  But  tell  why  the  sepulchre,  wherein  we  saw  thee  quietly  in- 
urned,  hath  oped  his  ponderous  and  marble  jaws  to  cast  thee 
up  again.  11  Not  in  entire  forgetfulness  and  not  in  utter 
nakedness,  but  trailing  clouds  of  glory  do  we  come  from  Ood 


Examples  of  Elegance.  177 


who  is  our  home.  12.  When  the  loud  surges  lash  the 
sounding  shore,  the  hoarse,  rough  verse  should  like  the  torrent 
roar.  13.  A  sloop  was  loitering  in  the  distance,  dropping  slowly- 
down  with  the  tide^  her  sail  hanging  uselessly  against  the  mast. 
14.  Others  might  possess  the  qualities  which  were  necessary  to 
save  the  popular  party  in  the  hour  of  danger  ;  Hampden  alone 
had  both  the  power  and  the  inclination  to  restrain  its  excesses 
in  the  hour  of  triumph.  15.  If,  turning  back,  I  could  overpass 
the  vale  of  years  and  could  stand  on  the  mountain-top,  and 
could  look  back  again  far  before  me  at  the  bright  ascending 
morn,  we  would  enjoy  the  prospect  together ;  we  would  walk 
along  the  summit  hand  in  hand,  O  Rhodope,  and  we  would  only- 
sigh  at  last  when  we  found  ourselves  below  with  others.  16. 
From  the  silence  and  deep  peace  of  this  saintly  summer  night, 
from  the  pathetic  blending  of  this  sweet  moonlight,  dawnlight, 
dreamlight,  from  the  manly  tenderness  of  this  flattering,  whisper- 
ing, murmuring  love,  suddenly  as  from  the  woods  and  fields, 
suddenly  as  from  the  chambers  of  the  air  opening  in  revelation, 
suddenly  as  from  the  ground  yawning  at  her  feet,  leaped  upon 
her  with  the  flashing  of  cataracts,  Death,  the  crowned  phantom, 
with  all  the  equipage  of  his  terrors  and  the  tiger  roar  of  his  voice. 
17.  When  I  remember  what  a  noble  and  beautiful  woman  is, 
what  a  manly  man  ;  when  I  reel,  dazzled  by  this  glare,  drunken 
by  these  perfumes,  confused  by  this  alluring  music,  and  reflect 
upon  the  enormous  sums  wasted  in  a  pompous  profusion  that 
delights  no  one;  when  I  look  around  upon  all  this  rampant 
vulgarity  in  tinsel  and  Brussels  lace,  and  think  how  fortunes  go, 
how  men  struggle,  and  lose  the  bloom  of  their  honesty,  how 
women  hide  in  a  smiling  pretence,  and  eye  with  caustic  glances 
their  neighbor's  newer  house,  diamonds,  or  porcelain,  and  ob- 
serve their  daughters,  such  as  these ; — why,  I  tremble  and  trem- 
ble, and  this  scene  to-night,  every  "  crack  "  ball  this  winter  will 
be,  not  the  pleasant  society  of  men  and  women,  but,  even  in  this 
young  country,  an  orgie  such  as  rotting  Corinth  saw,  a  frenzied 
festival  of  Rome  in  its  decadence.  18.  For  so  have  I  seen  a 
lark  rising  from  his  bed  of  grass  and  soaring  upwards,  singing 
as  he  rises,  and  [he]  hopes  to  get  to  heaven  and  climb  above  the 
clouds ;  but  the  poor  bird  was  beaten  back  by  the  loud  sighings 


1 78  Qualities  of  Style — Elegance, 

of  an  Eastern  wind,  and  his  motion  made  irregular  and  incon- 
stant, descending  more  at  every  breath  of  the  tempest  than  it 
could  recover  by  the  libration  and  frequent  weighing  of  his 
wings,  till  the  little  creature  was  forced  to  sit  down  and  pant 
and  stay  till  the  storm  was  over ;  and  then  it  made  a  prosperous 
flight  and  did  rise  and  sing  as  if  it  had  learned  music  and  motion 
from  an  angel  as  he  passed  sometimes  through  the  air  about  his 
ministries  here  below. 

Direction. — Bring  in  sentences  containing  the  several  requisites  of 
elegance,  and  others  whose  sound  is  an  '*  echo  to  the  sense." 


p^ 


<3 


5    w 

H    o 

Hi 

1^ 


A   SCHEME    FOR   REVIEW. 

Elegance  defined. 
I.  Beauty  in  the  Thought. 
TI.  Euphony  in  the  Words. 

Particulars  in  which  Words  can  Echo  the  Sense. 
III.  Beauty  in  the  Imagery. 
IV.  Alliteration. 

V.  Smooth  and  Flowing  Sentences. 
VI.  Rhythm. 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Style.         1 79 


LESSON  74. 

STYLE — EXTRACTS   FOR  THE  CRITICAL  STUDY 
OF   IT. 

Names  of  Styles. — The  prevalence  of  any  quality,  or 
specialty,  in  one's  style  may  name  it.  If  imagery  abounds 
in  it,  we  call  the  styl^  Jlo rid  j  if  it  is  barren  of  imagery, 
we  say  it  is  plain ;  if  matter-of-fact  and  without  fancy 
or  imagination,  dry  or  prosy.  If  any  one  figure,  as  the 
metaphor  or  the  antithesis,  is  in  excess,  we  name  the 
style  from  it,  metaphorical  or  ajitithetic.  Wit,  in  some  of 
its  forms,  makes  the  style  satirical  or  humorous;  a  cast  of 
sentences  fitting  the  discourse  for  delivery  makes  the 
^\y\^  forcible  or  oratorical ;  if  the  expression  runs  along 
musically,  part  arising  out  of  part  spontaneously  and 
without  abruptness,  the  style  is  smooth  or  flowing  ;  and  if, 
being  smooth,  the  words  are  chosen  for  beauty  of  sound 
and  meaning,  the  style  is  graceful  even  elegant.  Spartan 
brevity  makes  the  style  laconic;  freedom  from  superfluity 
of  words  and  needless  circumstances  makes  it  concise; 
superfluity  of  expression  and  circumstance,  and  thinness 
of  thought  make  it  diffuse  or  tedious  or  prolix;  the  free 
use  of  the  idioms  of  the  language  makes  it  idiomatic  ;  the 
presence  of  short,  pithy,  portable  sentences  makes  it 
sententious  or  epigram?natic ;  wordiness  makes  it  verbose ; 
household  words  and  a  colloquial  cast  of  sentences 
make  it  si7nple ;  pedantic  terms  and  an  arrangement  of 
them,  stiff  and  formal,  make  it  stilted;  and  expression 
too  big  for  the  thought  makes  the  style  bombastic.  If  the 
common  type  of  sentences  used  is  the  period,  the  style  is 
periodic;  and  if  climax  abounds,  it  is  climacteric.     If  the 


1 80  Qtialities  of  Style, 

sentence  is  long  and  complex,  one  clause  modifying 
another,  and  in  turn  modified  by  another,  and  that  by  a 
fourth,  and  this  is  continued  until  the  thougnt  is  ob- 
scured, the  style  is  involved. 

Even  great  writers  give  their  names  to  their  style  ;  as, 
Miltonic^  Shakespearian,  Addisonian,  Johnsonese. 

We  give  below,  for  minute  study,  a  few  prose  extracts 
from  contemporary  authors,  with  some  from  authors  not 
now  living.  We  ask  careful  attention  to  the  spirit  in 
which  each  passage  was  written,  and  to  the  style  which 
characterizes  it.  In  particular,  we  ask  the  pupils  to  note 
the  selection  and  ordering  of  the  words,  the  cast  of  the 
sentences,  their  perspicuity,  their  imagery, — its  kinds, 
the  allusions  in  it,  its  offices — the  observation  of  men  and 
of  nature  each  extract  reveals,  its  thought  and  the  truth 
of  it,  and  the  character  of  the  author  as  disclosed  in  the 
passage  chosen. 

To  the  Teacher. — Question  your  pupils  minutely  upon  these 
passages: — 

Since  the  essence  of  wealth  consists  in  power  over  men,  will 
it  not  follow  that  the  nobler  and  the  more  in  number  the  per- 
sons are  over  whom  it  has  power,  the  greater  the  wealth  }  Per- 
haps it  may  even  appear,  after  some  consideration,  that  the 
persons  themselves  are  the  wealth  ;  that  these  pieces  of  gold 
with  which  we  are  in  the  habit  of  guiding  them  are,  in  fact, 
nothing  more  than  a  kind  of  Byzantine  harness,  or  trappings, 
very  glittering  and  beautiful  in  barbaric  sight,  wherewith  we 
bridle  the  creatures  ;  but  that  if  these  same  living  creatures  could 
be  guided  without  the  fretting  and  jingling  of  the  Byzants 
in  their  mouths  and  ears,  they  might  themselves  be  more  valua- 
ble than  their  bridles.  In  fact,  it  may  be  discovered  that  the 
true  veins  of  wealth  are  purple,  and  not  in  rock,  but  in  flesh  ; 
perhaps  even  that  the  final  outcome  and  consummation  of  all 
wealth  is  in  the  producing  as  many  as  possible  full-breathed. 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Style,        i8i 

bright-eyed,  and  happy-hearted  human  creatures.  Our  modern 
wealth,  I  think,  has  rather  a  tendency  the  other  way — most  po- 
litical economists  appearing  to  consider  multitudes  of  human 
creatures  not  conducive  to  wealth,  or  at  best  conducive  to  it  by 
remaining  in  a  dim-eyed  and  narrow-chested  state  of  being. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  open,  I  expect,  to  serious  question,  which  I 
leave  to  the  reader's  pondering,  whether,  among  national  manu- 
factures, that  of  souls  of  a  good  quality  may  not  at  last  turn 
out  a  quite  leadingly  lucrative  one?  John  Ruskin. 

One  comes  away  from  a  company  in  which  it  may  easily  hap- 
pen he  has  said  nothing,  and  no  important  remark  has  been  ad- 
dressed to  him,  and  yet,  if  in  sympathy  with  the  society,  he 
shall  not  have  a  sense  of  this  fact,  such  a  stream  of  life  has  been 
flowing  into  him  and  out  from  him  through  the  eyes.  There  are 
eyes,  to  be  sure,  that  give  no  more  admission  into  the  man  than 
blueberries.  Others  are  liquid  and  deep,  wells  that  a  man 
might  fall  into ;  others  are  aggressive  and  devouring,  seem  to 
call  out  the  police,  take  all  too  much  notice,  and  require  crowd- 
ed Broadways  and  the  security  of  millions  to  protect  individuals 
against  them.  The  military  eye  I  meet,  now  darkly  sparkling  un- 
der clerical,  now  under  rustic  brows.  Tis  the  city  of  Lacedaemon, 
'tis  a  stack  of  bayonets.  There  are  asking  eyes,  asserting  eyes, 
prowling  eyes,  and  eyes  of  fate — some  of  good  and  some  of 
sinister  omen.  The  alleged  power  to  charm  down  insanity,  or  fe- 
rocity in  beasts,  is  a  power  behind  the  eye.  It  must  be  a  victory 
achieved  in  the  will  before  it  can  be  signified  in  the  eye.  Tis 
very  certain  that  each  man  carries  in  his  eye  the  exact  indica- 
tion of  his  rank  in  the  immense  scale  of  men,  and  we  are  always 
learning  to  read  it.  The  reason  why  men  do  not  obey  us  is, 
because  they  see  the  mud  at  the  bottom  of  our  eye. 

R.  W.  Emerson. 

The  robins  are  not  good  solo  singers,  but  their  chorus,  as,  like 
primitive  fire-worshippers,  they  hail  the  return  of  light  and 
warmth  to  the  world,  is  unrivalled.  There  are  a  hundred  sing- 
ing like  one.  They  are  noisy  enough  then,  and  sing,  as  poets 
should,  with  no  after-thought.  But  when  they  come  after  cher- 
ries to  the  tree  near  my  window,  they  muffle  their  voices,  and 


1 82  Qualities  of  Style. 


their  faint  pip,  pip,  pop  /  sounds  far  away  at  the  bottom  of  the 
garden,  where  they  know  I  shall  not  suspect  them  of  robbing  the 
great  black-walnut  of  its  bitter-rinded  store.  They  are  feath- 
ered Pecksniffs,  to  be  sure,  but  then  how  brightly  their  breasts, 
that  look  rather  shabby  in  the  sunlight,  shine  in  a  rainy  day 
against  the  dark  green  of  the  fringe-tree !  After  they  have 
pinched  and  shaken  all  the  life  out  of  an  earthworm,  as  Italian 
cooks  pound  all  the  spirit  out  of  a  steak,  and  then  gulped  him, 
they  stand  up  in  honest  self-confidence,  expand  their  red  waist- 
coats with  the  virtuous  air  of  a  lobby  member,  and  outface  you 
with  an  eye  that  calmly  challenges  inquiry.  *'  Do  /  look  like  a 
bird  that  knows  the  flavor  of  raw  vermin.?  I  throw  myself 
upon  a  jury  of  my  peers.  Ask  any  honest  robin  if  he  ever 
ate  anything  less  ascetic  than  the  frugal  berry  of  the  juniper, 
and  he  will  answer  that  his  vow  forbids  him."  Can  such  an 
open  bosom  cover  such  depravity  }  Alas,  yes  !  I  have  no  doubt 
his  breast  was  redder  at  that  very  moment  with  the  blood  of 
my  raspberries.  J.  R.  Lowell. 

To  spend  too  much  time  in  studies  is  sloth  ;  to  use  them  too 
much  for  ornament  is  affectation  ;  to  make  judgment  wholly  by 
their  rules  is  the  humor  of  a  scholar  ;  they  perfect  nature  and 
are  perfected  by  experience;  for  natural  abilities  are  like  natural 
plants,  that  need  pruning  by  study;  and  studies  themselves  do 
give  forth  directions  too  much  at  large,  except  they  be  bounded 
in  by  experience.  Crafty  men  contemn  studies,  simple  men  ad- 
mire them,  and  wise  men  use  them ;  for  they  teach  not  their 
own  use;  but  that  is  a  wisdom  without  them  and  above  them, 
won  by  observation.  Read  not  to  contradict  and  confute,  nor 
to  believe  and  take  for  granted,  nor  to  find  talk  and  discourse, 
but  to  weigh  and  consider.  Some  books  are  to  be  tasted,  others 
to  be  swallowed,  and  some  few  to  be  chewed  and  digested ;  that  is, 
some  books  are  to  be  read  only  in  parts  ;  others  to  be  read,  but 
not  curiously ;  and  some  few  to  be  read  wholly  and  with  dili- 
gence and  attention.  Reading  maketh  a  full  man,  conference  a 
ready  man,  and  writing  an  exact  man ;  and,  therefore,  if  a  man 
write  little,  he  had  need  have  a  great  memory ;  if  he  confer  little, 
he  had  need  have  a  present  wit ;  and,  if  he  read  little,  he  had 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Style,  183 

need  have  much  cunning  to  seem  to  know  that  he  doth  not. 
Histories  make  men  wise ;  poets  witty ;  the  mathematics  subtile ; 
natural  philosophy  deep ;  moral,  grave ;  logic  and  rhetoric  able 
to  contend.  Francis  Bacon. 

Wisdom,  justice,  self-denial,  nobleness,  purity,  high-minded- 
ness — these  are  the  qualities  before  which  the  free-born  races  of 
Europe  have  been  contented  to  bow  ;  and  in  no  [other]  order  of 
men  were  such  qualities  to  be  found  as  they  were  found  six  hun- 
dred years  ago  in  the  clergy  of  the  Catholic  Church.  They 
called  themselves  the  successors  of  the  Apostles.  They  claimed 
in  their  Master  s  name  universal  spiritual  authority,  but  they 
made  good  their  pretensions  by  the  holiness  of  their  own  lives. 
They  were  allowed  to  rule,  because  they  deserved  to  rule  ;  and,  in 
the  fulness  of  reverence,  kings  and  nobles  bent  before  a  power 
which  was  nearer  to  God  than  their  own.  Over  prince  and  sub- 
ject, chieftain  and  serf,  a  body  of  unarmed,  defenceless  men 
reigned  supreme  by  the  magic  of  sanctity.  They  tamed  the 
fiery  northern  warriors  who  had  broken  in  pieces  the  Roman 
Empire.  They  taught  them,  they  brought  them  really  and  truly 
to  believe,  that  they  had  immortal  souls,  and  that  they  would 
one  day  stand  at  the  awful  judgment-bar  and  give  account  for 
their  lives,  there.  With  the  brave,  the  honest,  and  the  good, 
with  those  who  had  not  oppressed  the  poor  nor  removed  their 
neighbor's  landmark,  with  those  who  had  been  just  in  all  their 
dealings,  with  those  who  had  fought  against  evil,  and  had  tried 
valiantly  to  do  their  Master's  will, — at  that  great  day  it  would  be 
well.  For  cowards,  for  profligates,  for  those  who  lived  for 
luxury  and  pleasure  and  self-indulgence,  there  was  the  blackness 
of  eternal  death.  An  awful  conviction  of  this  tremendous  kind 
the  clergy  had  effectually  instilled  into  the  mind  of  Europe. 

J.  A.  Froude. 

But  I  cannot  sound  the  depth  of  lago's  cunning ;  in  attempt- 
ing to  thread  his  intricacies,  my  mind  gets  bewildered.  Sleepless, 
unrelenting,  inexhaustible,  with  an  energy  that  never  flags,  and 
an  alertness  that  nothing  can  surprise,  he  outwits  every  obstacle, 
and  turns  it  into  a  help.     By  the  working  of  his  devilish  arts, 


184  Qualtites  of  Style. 

the  Moor  is  brought  to  distrust  all  his  own  original  perceptions, 
to  renounce  his  own  understanding,  and  to  see  everything  just  as 
lago  would  have  him  see  it.  Craving  for  action  of  the  most  ex- 
citing kind,  there  is  a  fascination  for  lago  in  the  very  danger  of 
crime.  Walking  the  plain,  safe,  straightforward  path  of  truth 
and  right  does  not  excite  and  occupy  him  enough ;  he  prefers  to 
thread  the  dark,  perilous  intricacies  of  some  hellish  plot,  or  to 
balance  himself,  as  it  were,  on  a  rope  stretched  over  an  abyss 
where  danger  stimulates,  and  success  demonstrates,  his  agility. 
He  has,  in  short,  an  insatiable  itching  of  mind,  which  finds  re- 
lief in  roughing  it  through  the  briers  and  thickets  of  diabolical 
undertakings.  Or,  to  vary  the  figure  once  more,  it  is  as  if  one 
should  be  so  taken  with  a  passion  for  dancing  over  eggs  as  to 
make  an  open  floor  seem  vapid  and  dull.  Even  if  remorse  over- 
take such  a  man,  its  effect  is  to  urge  him  deeper  into  crime ;  as 
the  desperate  gamester  naturally  tries  to  bury  his  chagrin  at 
past  losses  in  the  increased  excitement  of  a  larger  stake. 

H.  N.  Hudson. 

If  the  *'  thousand  souled  "  Shakespeare  may  be  said  to  repre- 
sent mankind,  Ben  Jonson  as  unmistakably  stands  for  English- 
kind.  He  is  Saxon  England  in  epitome, — John  Bull  passing 
from  a  name  into  a  man — a  proud,  strong,  tough,  solid,  domi- 
neering individual,  whose  intellect  and  personality  cannot  be 
severed,  even  in  thought,  from  his  body  and  personal  appearance. 
Ben's  mind,  indeed,  was  rooted  in  Ben's  character,  and  his 
character  took  symbolic  form  in  his  physical  frame.  He  seemed 
built  up,  mentally  as  well  as  bodily,  out  of  beef  and  sack,  mutton 
and  Canary ;  or,  to  say  the  least,  was  a  joint  product  of  the 
English  mind  and  the  English  larder,  of  the  fat  as  well  as  the 
thought  of  the  land,  of  the  soil  as  well  as  the  soul  of  England. 
He  is  a  very  pleasant  boon  companion  as  long  as  we  make  our 
idea  of  his  importance  agree  wdth  his  own  ;  but,  the  instant  we 
attempt  to  dissect  his  intellectual  pretensions,  the  living  animal 
becomes  a  dangerous  subject,  his  countenance  flames,  his  great 
hands  double  up,  his  thick  lips  begin  to  twitch  with  impending 
invective ;  and,  while  the  critic's  impression  of  him  is  thus  all 
the  more  vivid,  he  is  checked,  in  its  expression,  by  a  very  natural 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Style,  185 

fear  of  the  consequences.  There  is  no  safety  but  in  taking  this 
rowdy  leviathan  of  letters  at  his  own  /aluation  ;  and  the  relation 
of  critics  towards  him  is  as  perilous  as  that  of  the  juries  towards 
the  Irish  advocate  who  had  an  unpleasant  habit  of  challenging 
them  to  a  personal  combat  whenever  they  brought  in  a  verdict 
against  any  of  his  clients.  There  is,  in  fact,  such  a  vast  animal 
force  in  old  Ben's  self-assertion,  that  he  bullies  posterity  as  he 
bullied  his  contemporaries  ;  and,  while  we  admit  his  claims  to 
rank  next  to  Shakespeare  among  the  dramatists  of  his  age,  we 
beg  our  readers  to  understand  that  we  do  it  under  intimidation. 

E.  P.  Whipple. 

No  sovereign  could  have  jarred  against  the  conception  of  an 
English  ruler  which  had  grown  up  under  the  Tudors  more 
utterly  than  James  I.  His  big  head,  his  slobbering  tongue,  his 
quilted  clothes,  his  rickety  legs,  his  goggle  eyes,  stood  out  in 
as  grotesque  a  contrast  with  all  that  men  recalled  of  Henry  or 
Elizabeth  as  his  gabble  and  rodomontade,  his  want  of  personal 
dignity,  his  coarse  buffoonery,  his  drunkenness,  his  pedantry, 
his  contemptible  cowardice.  Under  this  ridiculous  behavior, 
however,  lay  a  man  of  much  natural  ability,  a  ripe  scholar,  with 
a  considerable  fund  of  shrewdness,  of  mother  wit,  and  ready 
repartee.  His  canny  humor  lights  up  the  political  and  theologi- 
cal controversies  of  the  times  with  quaint,  incisive  phrases,  with 
puns  and  epigrams  and  touches  of  irony,  which  still  retain  their 
savor.  His  reading,  especially  in  theological  matters,  was  ex- 
tensive ;  and  he  was  a  voluminous  author  on  subjects  which 
ranged  from  predestinarianism  to  tobacco.  But  his  shrewdness 
and  learning  only  left  him,  in  the  phrase  of  Henry  IV.,  **  the 
wisest  [most  learned]  fool  in  Christendom."  He  had  the  temper 
of  a  pedant,  and  with  it  a  pedant's  love  of  theories,  and  a 
pedant's  inability  to  bring  his  theories  into  any  relation  with 
actual  facts.  All  might  have  gone  v/ell  had  he  confined  himself 
to  speculations  about  witchcraft,  about  predestination,  about 
the  noxiousness  of  smoking.  Unhappily  for  England  and  his 
successor,  he  clung  yet  more  passionately  to  two  theories  which 
contained  within  them  the  seeds  of  a  death-struggle  between 
his  people  and  the  Crown,     The  hrst  was  that  of  §  Piyin^ 


1 86  Qualities  of  Style. 


right  of  Kings,  and   the  second  that  of  a  Divine  right  of 
Bishops.  J.  R.  Green. 

I  would  have  a  woman  as  true  as  Death.  At  the  first  real  lie 
which  works  from  the  heart  outward,  she  should  be  tenderly- 
chloroformed  into  a  better  world,  where  she  can  have  an  angel 
for  a  governess,  and  feed  on  strange  fruits  which  will  make  her 
all  over  again,  even  to  her  bones  and  marrow.  Proud  she  may- 
be, in  the  sense  of  respecting  herself ;  but  pride,  in  the  sense  of 
contemning  others  less  gifted  than  herself,  deserves  the  two  low- 
est circles  of  a  vulgar  woman's  Inferno,  where  the  punishments 
are  small-pox  and  bankruptcy.  She  who  nips  off  the  end  of  a 
brittle  courtesy,  as  one  breaks  the  tip  of  an  icicle,  to  bestow 
upon  those  whom  she  ought  cordially  and  kindly  to  recognize, 
proclaims  the  fact  that  she  comes  not  merely  of  low  blood,  but 
of  bad  blood.  Consciousness  of  unquestioned  position  makes 
people  gracious  in  proper  measure  to  all ;  but,  if  a  woman  puts 
on  airs  with  her  equals,  she  has  something  about  herself  or  her 
family  she  is  ashamed  of  or  ought  to  be.  Better  too  few  words 
from  the  woman  we  love  than  too  many :  while  she  is  silent, 
nature  is  working  for  her ;  while  she  talks,  she  is  working  for 
herself.  Love  is  sparingly  soluble  in  the  words  of  men  ;  there- 
fore they  speak  much  of  it ;  but  one  syllable  of  woman's  speech 
can  dissolve  more  of  it  than  a  man's  heart  can  hold. 

O.  W.  Holmes. 


LESSON  75. 

EXTRACTS    FOR   THE    CRITICAL    STUDY   OF    STYLE. 

Direction. — Do  with  these  extracts  as  directed  with  those  of  the 
preceding  Lesson: — 

Writing  for  the  general  public,  Shakespeare  used  such  lan- 
guage as  would  convey  his  meaning  to  his  auditors — the  com- 
mon phraseology^  of  his  period,      Put;  what  ^  language  wa3 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Style,  187 

that!  In  its  capacity  for  the  varied  and  exact  expression  of 
all  moods  of  mind,  all  forms  of  thought,  all  kinds  of  emotion,  a 
tongue  unequalled  by  any  other  known  to  literature !  A  lan- 
guage of  exhaustless  variety ;  strong  without  ruggedness,  and 
flexible  without  effeminacy.  A  manly  tongue,  yet  bending 
itself  gracefully  and  lovingly  to  thetenderest  and  daintiest  needs 
of  woman,  and  capable  of  giving  utterance  to  the  most  awful 
and  impressive  thoughts  in  homely  words  that  come  from  the 
lips  and  go  to  the  heart  of  childhood.  It  would  seem  as  if  this 
language  had  been  preparing  itself  for  centuries  to  be  the  fit 
medium  of  utterance  for  the  world's  greatest  poet.  Hardly 
more  than  a  generation  had  passed  since  the  English  tongue 
had  reached  its  perfect  maturity ;  just  time  enough  to  have  it 
well  worked  into  the  unconscious  usage  of  the  people,  when 
Shakespeare  appeared,  to  lay  upon  it  a  burden  of  thought  which 
would  test  its  extremest  capability.  Shakespeare  seized  this  in- 
strument, to  whose  tones  all  ears  were  open,  and,  with  the  touch 
of  a  master,  he  brought  out  all  its  harmonies.  It  lay  ready  to  any 
hand  ;  but  his  was  the  first  to  use  it  with  absolute  control ;  and, 
among  all  his  successors,  great  as  some  are,  he  has  had,  even  in 
this  single  respect,  no  rival.  R.  G.  White. 

If,  on  doing  wrong,  we  feel  the  same  tearful,  broken-hearted 
sorrow  which  overwhelms  us  on  hurting  a  mother;  if,  on  doing 
right,  we  enjoy  the  same  sunny  serenity  of  mind,  the  same 
soothing,  satisfactory  delight  which  follows  on  our  receiving 
praise  from  a  father ;  we  certainly  have  within  us  the  image  of 
some  person,  to  whom  our  love  and  veneration  look,  in  whose 
smile  we  find  our  happiness,  for  whom  we  yearn,  towards  whom 
we  direct  our  pleadings,  in  whose  anger  we  are  troubled  and 
waste  away.  These  feelings  in  us  are  such  as  require  for  their 
exciting  cause  an  intelligent  being ;  we  are  not  affectionate  to- 
wards a  stone,  nor  do  we  feel  shame  before  a  horse  or  a  dog ;  we 
have  no  remorse  or  compunction  on  breaking  mere  human  law: 
yet,  so  it  is,  conscience  excites  all  these  painful  emotions,  con- 
fusion, foreboding,  self-condemnation  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  sheds  upon  us  a  deep  peace,  a  sense  of  security,  a  resignation, 
^nd  a  hope  which  there  is  no  earthly  object  to  elicit.    "  The 


1 88  Qualities  of  Style, 

wicked  flees,  when  no  one  pursueth ;"  then  why  does  he  flee? 
whence  his  terror  ?  Who  is  it  that  he  sees  in  soHtude,  in  dark- 
ness, in  the  hidden  chambers  of  his  heart  ?  If  the  cause  of  these 
emotions  does  not  belong  to  this  visible  world,  the  object  to 
which  his  perception  is  directed  must  be  supernatural  and  di- 
vine ;  and  thus  the  phenomena  of  conscience,  as  a  dictate,  avail 
to  impress  the  imagination  with  a  picture  of  a  Supreme  Gov- 
ernor, a  Judge,  holy,  just,  powerful,  all-seeing,  and  retributive — 
the  creative  principle  of  religion,  as  the  moral  sense  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  ethics.  J.  H.  Newman. 

Sometimes  a  great  ship,  an  East  Indiaman,  with  rusty,  seam- 
ed, blistered  sides  and  dingy  sails,  came  slowly  moving  up  the 
harbor,  with  an  air  of  indolent  self-importance  and  conscious- 
ness of  superiority,  which  inspired  me  with  profound  respect. 
If  the  ship  had  ever  chanced  to  run  down  a  row-boat  or  a  sloop 
or  any  specimen  of  smaller  craft,  I  should  only  have  wondered 
at  the  temerity  of  any  floating  thing  in  crossing  the  path  of  such 
supreme  majesty.  The  ship  was  leisurely  chained  and  cabled 
to  the  old  dock,  and  then  came  the  disembowelling.  How  the 
stately  monster  had  been  fattening  upon  foreign  spoils  !  How 
it  had  gorged  itself  (such  galleons  did  never  seem  to  me  of  the 
feminine  gender  [sex])  with  the  luscious  treasures  of  the  tropics. 
It  had  laid  its  lazy  length  along  the  shores  of  China,  and  sucked 
in  whole  flowery  harvests  of  tea.  The  Brazilian  sun  flashed 
through  the  strong  wicker  prisons,  bursting  with  bananas  and 
nectarean  fruits  that  eschew  the  temperate  zone.  Steams  of 
camphor,  of  sandal  wood,  arose  from  the  hold.  Sailors,  chant- 
ing cabalistic  strains,  that  had  to  my  ear  a  shrill  and  monoto- 
nous pathos,  like  the  uniform  rising  and  falling  of  an  autumn 
wind,  turned  cranks  that  lifted  the  bales  and  boxes  and  crates,  and 
swung  them  ashore.  But  to  my  mind  the  spell  of  their  singing 
raised  the  fragrant  freight,  and  not  the  crank.  Madagascar  and 
Ceylon  appeared  at  the  mystic  bidding  of  the  song.  The  placid 
sunshine  of  the  docks  was  perfumed  with  India.  The  universal 
calm  of  southern  seas  poured  from  the  bosom  of  the  quiet,  de- 
caying, old,  northern  portr  9f  W,  QVRTI§, 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Style.  1 89 

The  first  snow  came.  How  beautiful  it  was,  falling  so  silently- 
all  day  long,  all  night  long,  on  the  mountains,  on  the  meadows, 
on  the  roofs  of  the  living,  on  the  graves  of  the  dead !  All  white 
save  the  river,  that  marked  its  course  by  a  winding,  black  line 
across  the  landscape ;  and  the  leafless  trees,  that  against  the 
leaden  sky  now  revealed  more  fully  the  wonderful  beauty  and 
intricacy  of  their  branches.  What  silence,  too,  came  with  the 
snow,  and  what  seclusion  !  Every  sound  was  muffled,  every 
noise  changed  to  something  soft  and  musical.  No  more  tramp- 
ing hoofs,  no  more  rattling  wheels  !  Only  the  chiming  sleigh- 
bells,  beating  as  swift  and  merrily  as  the  hearts  of  children. 

All  day  long,  all  night  long,  the  snow  fell  on  the  village  and 
on  the  church-yard  ;  on  the  happy  home  of  Cecilia  Vaughan,  on 
the  lonely  grave  of  Alice  Archer.  Yes,  for,  before  winter  came, 
she  had  gone  to  that  land  where  winter  never  comes.  Her  long 
domestic  tragedy  was  ended.  She  was  dead,  and  with  her  had 
died  her  secret  sorrow  and  her  secret  love.  Kavanagh  never 
knew  what  wealth  of  affection  for  him  faded  from  the  world 
when  she  departed  ;  Cecilia  never  knew  what  fidelity  of  friend- 
ship, what  delicate  regard,  what  gentle  magnanimity,  what  an- 
gelic patience  had  gone  with  her  into  the  grave  ;  Mr.  Churchill 
never  knew  that,  while  he  was  exploring  the  past  for  records  of 
obscure  and  unknown  martyrs,  in  his  own  village,  near  his  own 
door,  before  his  own  eyes,  one  of  that  silent  sisterhood  had 
passed  away  into  oblivion,  unnoticed  and  unknown. 

H.  W.  Longfellow. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  a  wood  fire  needs  as  much  tending 
as  a  pair  of  twins.  I  would  as  soon  have  an  Englishman  with- 
out side-whiskers  as  a  fire  without  a  big  backlog;  and  I  would 
rather  have  no  fire  than  one  that  required  no  tending  ;— one  of 
dead  wood  that  could  not  sing  again  the  imprisoned  songs  of 
the  forest,  or  give  out,  in  brilliant  scintillations,  the  sunshine  it 
absorbed  in  its  growth.  A  wood  fire  on  the  hearth  is  a  kindler 
of  the  domestic  virtues.  It  brings  in  cheerfulness  and  a  family 
centre,  and,  besides,  it  is  artistic.  I  should  like  to  know  if  an 
artist  could  ever  represent  on  canvas  a  happy  family  gathered 
round  a  hole  in  the  floor,  called  a  register.     Given  a  fireplace, 


1 90  Qualities  of  Style, 

and  a  tolerable  artist  could  almost  create  a  pleasant  family- 
round  it.  But  what  could  he  conjure  out  of  a  register  !  If  there 
was  any  virtue  among  our  ancestors — and  they  labored  under  a 
great  many  disadvantages,  and  had  few  of  the  aids  which  we 
have  to  excellence  of  life — I  am  convinced  they  drew  it  mostly 
from  the  fireside.  If  it  was  difficult  to  read  the  eleven  com- 
mandments by  the  light  of  a  pine  knot,  it  was  not  difficult  to  get 
the  sweet  spirit  of  them  from  the  countenance  of  the  serene 
mother  knitting  in  the  chimney-corner.  C.  D.  Warner. 

When  the  high-born  English  lady  in  the  Crimean  hospital, 
ordered  to  a  post  of  almost  certain  death,  only  raised  her  hands 
to  heaven,  and  said,  "  Thank  God"  !  she  did  not  renounce  her 
true  position  as  woman — she  claimed  it.  When  the  queen  of 
James  I.  of  Scotland,  already  immortalized  by  him  in  stately 
verse,  won  a  higher  immortality  by  welcoming  to  her  fair  bosom 
the  dagger  aimed  at  his ;  when  the  Countess  of  Buchan  hung 
confined  in  her  iron  cage,  outside  Berwick  Castle,  in  penalty  for 
crowning  Robert  the  Bruce;  when  the  stainless  soul  of  Joan  of 
Arc  met  God,  like  Moses,  in  a  burning  flame  ; — these  things  were 
as  they  should  be.  Man  must  not  monopolize  these  privileges 
of  peril,  birthright  of  great  souls.  Serenades  and  compliments 
must  not  replace  the  nobler  hospitality  which  shares  with  woman 
the  opportunity  of  martyrdom.  Great  administrative  duties 
also,  cares  of  state,  for  which  one  should  be  born  gray-headed, 
how  nobly  do  these  sit  upon  a  woman's  brow  !  Each  year  adds 
to  the  storied  renown  of  Elizabeth  of  England,  greatest  sover- 
eign of  the  greatest  of  historic  nations.  Christina  of  Sweden, 
alone  among  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe — so  says  Voltaire — 
sustained  the  dignity  of  the  throne  against  Richelieu  and  Maza- 
rin.  And  these  queens  most  assuredly  did  not  sacrifice  their 
womanhood  in  the  process.  T.  W.  Higginson. 

Lo,  it  is  summer,  almighty  summer !  The  everlasting  gates 
of  life  and  summer  are  thrown  open  wide,  and  on  the  ocean, 
tranquil  and  verdant  as  a  savanna,  the  unknown  lady  from  the 
dreadful  vision  and  I  myself  are  floating — she  upon  a  fairy  pin- 
nace, and  I  upon  an  English  three-decker.     But  both  of  us  are 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Style,  I91 


wooing  gales  of  festal  happiness  within  the  domain  of  our  com- 
mon country,  within  that  ancient,  watery  park,  within  that  path- 
less chase  where  England  takes  her  pleasure  as  a  huntress 
through  winter  and  summer,  and  which  stretches  from  the  ris- 
ing to  the  setting  sun.  Ah  !  what  a  wilderness  of  floral  beauty 
was  hidden,  or  was  suddenly  revealed,  upon  the  tropic  islands 
through  which  the  pinnace  moved  !  And  upon  her  deck,  what  a 
bevy  of  human  flowers,  young  women  how  lovely,  young  men 
how  noble,  that  were  dancing  together,  and  slowly  drifting 
toward  us  amidst  music  and  incense,  amidst  blossoms  from 
forests  and  gorgeous  corymbi  from  vintages,  amidst  natural 
carolling  and  the  echoes  of  sweet,  girlish  laughter !  Slowly  the 
pinnace  nears  us,  gayly  she  hails  us,  and  slowly  she  disappears 
beneath  the  shadow  of  our  mighty  bows.  But  then,  as  at  some 
signal  from  heaven,  the  music  and  the  carols,  and  the  sweet 
echoing  of  girlish  laughter — all  are  hushed.  What  evil  has 
smitten  the  pinnace,  meeting  or  overtaking  her  }  I  looked  over 
the  bow  for  an  answer ;  and  behold  !  the  pinnace  was  dismantled  ; 
the  revel  and  the  revellers  were  found  no  more  ;  the  glory  of  the 
vintage  was  dust ;  and  the  forest  was  left  without  a  witness  to 
its  beauty  upon  the  seas.  T.  De  Quincey. 

The  mass  of  mankind  can  be  carried  along  a  course  full  of  hard- 
ship for  the  natural  man,  can  be  borne  over  the  thousand  im- 
pediments of  the  narrow  way,  only  by  the  tide  of  a  joyful  and 
bounding  emotion.  It  is  impossible  to  rise  from  readmg  Epic- 
tetus  or  Marcus  Aurelius  without  a  sense  of  constraint  and 
melancholy,  without  feeling  that  the  burden  laid  upon  man  is 
well  nigh  greater  than  he  can  bear.  Honor  to  the  sages  who 
have  felt  this,  and  yet  have  borne  it  1  Yet,  even  for  the  sage, 
this  sense  of  labor  and  sorrow  in  his  march  towards  the  goal 
constitutes  a  relative  inferiority;  the  noblest  souls  of  whatever 
creed,  the  pagan  Empedocles  as  well  as  Christian  Paul,  have  in- 
sisted on  the  necessity  of  an  inspiration,  a  living  emotion,  to 
make  moral  action  perfect ;  an  obscure  indication  of  this  necessity 
is  the  one  drop  of  truth  in  the  ocean  of  verbiage  with  which  the 
controversy  on  justification  by  faith  has  flooded  the  world. 
But,  for  the  ordinary  man,  this  sense  of  labor  and  sorrow  con- 


192  Qualities  of  Style, 

stitutes  an  absolute  disqualification  ;  it  paralyzes  him ;  under 
the  weight  of  it  he  cannot  make  way  towards  the  goal  at  all. 
The  paramount  virtue  of  religion  is  that  it  has  lighted  up  moral- 
ity ;  that  it  has  supplied  the  emotion  and  inspiration  needful 
for  carrying  the  sage  along  the  narrow  way  perfectly,  for  carry- 
ing the  ordinary  man  along  it  at  all.  Even  the  religions  with 
most  dross  in  them  have  had  something  of  this  virtue  ;  but  the 
Christian  religion  manifests  it  with  unexampled  splendor. 

Matthew  Arnold. 

A  great  elm-tree  spread  its  broad  branches  over  it,  at  the  foot 
of  which  bubbled  up  a  spring  of  the  softest  and  sweetest  water, 
in  a  little  well  formed  of  a  barrel,  and  then  stole  sparkling  away 
through  the  grass,  to  a  neighboring  brook,  that  babbled  along 
among  alders  and  dwarf  willows.  Hard  by  the  farm-house 
was  a  vast  barn,  that  might  have  served  for  a  church,  every  win- 
dow and  crevice  of  which  seemed  bursting  forth  with  the  treas- 
ures of  the  farm  ;  the  flail  was  busily  resounding  within  it  from 
morning  to  night;  swallows  and  martins  skimmed  twittering 
about  the  eaves ;  and  rows  of  pigeons,  some  with  one  eye  turned 
up,  as  if  watching  the  weather,  some  with  their  heads  under 
their  wings  or  buried  in  their  bosoms,  and  others,  swelling  and 
cooing  and  bowing  about  their  dames,  were  enjoying  the  sun- 
shine on  the  roof.  Sleek,  unwieldy  porkers  were  grunting  in 
the  repose  and  abundance  of  their  pens,  whence  sallied  forth, 
now  and  then,  troops  of  sucking  pigs,  as  if  to  snufT  the  air.  A 
stately  squadron  of  snowy  geese  were  riding  in  an  adjoining 
pond,  convoying  whole  fleets  of  ducks;  regiments  of  turkeys 
were  gobbling  through  the  farm-yard,  and  guinea-fowls  fretting 
about  it,  like  ill-tempered  housewives,  with  their  peevish,  dis- 
contented cry.  Before  the  barn-door  strutted  the  gallant  cock, 
that  pattern  of  a  husband,  a  warrior,  and  a  fine  gentleman,  clap- 
ping his  burnished  wings,  and  crowing  in  the  pride  and  gladness 
of  his  heart, — sometimes  tearing  up  the  earth  with  his  feet,  and 
then  generously  calling  his  ever-hungry  family  of  wives  and  chil- 
dren to  enjoy  the  rich  morsel  which  he  had  discovered. 

Washington  Irving. 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Style,  193 

Of  all  the  exhortations  which  it  [the  Farewell  Address]  con- 
tains, I  scarce  need  say  to  you  that  none  [other]  are  so  em- 
phatically uttered,  none  so  anxiously  repeated,  as  those  which 
enjoin  the  preservation  of  the  union  of  these  states.  On  this, 
under  Providence,  it  depends,  in  the  judgment  of  Washington, 
whether  the  people  of  America  shall  follow  the .  Old  World  ex- 
ample, and  be  broken  up  into  a  group  of  independent  military 
powers,  wasted  by  eternal  border  wars,  feeding  the  ambition  of 
petty  sovereigns  on  the  life-blood  of  wasted  principalities — a 
custom-house  on  the  bank  of  every  river,  a  fortress  on  every 
frontier  hill,  a  pirate  lurking  in  the  recesses  of  every  bay, — or 
whether  they  shall  continue  to  constitute  a  confederate  republic, 
the  most  extensive,  the  most  powerful,  the  most  prosperous  in 
the  long  line  of  ages.  No  one  can  read  the  Farewell  Address 
without  feeling  that  this  was  the  thought  and  this  the  care  which 
lay  nearest  and  heaviest  upon  that  noble  heart;  and,  if — which 
Heaven  forbid — the  day  shall  ever  arrive  when  his  parting  coun- 
sels on  that  head  shall  be  forgotten,  on  that  day,  come  it  soon 
or  come  it  late,  it  may  as  mournfully  as  truly  be  said  that  Wash- 
ington has  lived  in  vain.  Then  the  vessels,  as  they  ascend  and 
descend  the  Potomac,  may  toll  their  bells  with  new  significance 
as  they  pass  Mount  Vernon ;  they  will  strike  the  requiem  of 
constitutional  liberty  for  us,  for  all  nations. 

A  great  and  venerated  character,  like  that  of  Washington, 
which  commands  the  respect  of  an  entire  population,  however 
divided  on  other  questions,  is  not  an  isolated  fact  in  history  to 
be  regarded  with  barren  admiration ;  it  is  a  dispensation  of 
Providence  for  good.  It  was  well  said  by  Mr.  Jefferson  in  1792, 
writing  to  Washington  to  dissuade  him  from  declining  a  re- 
nomination,  "  North  and  South  will  hang  together  while  they 
have  you  to  hang  to."  Washington  in  the  flesh  is  taken  from 
us ;  we  shall  never  behold  him  as  our  fathers  did ;  but  his  mem- 
ory remains,  and  I  say  let  us  hang  to  his  memory.  Let  us  make 
a  national  festival  and  holiday  of  his  birthday ;  and  ever,  as  the 
22d  of  February  returns,  let  us  remember  that,  while  with  these 
solemn  and  joyous  rites  of  observance  we  celebrate  the  great 
anniversary,  our  fellow-citizens  on  the  Hudson,  on  the  Potomac, 


194  Qualities  of  Style. 

from  the  Southern  plains  to  the  Western  lakes,  are  engaged  in 
the  same  offices  of  gratitude  and  love.  Nor  we,  nor  they  alone, 
— beyond  the  Ohio,  beyond  the  Mississippi,  along  that  stupen- 
dous trail  of  immigration  from  East  to  West,  which,  bursting 
into  states  as  it  moves  westward,  is  already  threading  the 
Western  prairies,  swarming  through  the  portals  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  winding  down  their  slopes,  the  name  and  the 
memory  of  Washington  on  that  gracious  night  will  travel  with 
the  silver  queen  of  heaven  through  sixty  degrees  of  longitude, 
nor  part  company  with  her  till  she  walks  in  her  brightness 
through  the  golden  gate  of  California,  and  passes  serenely  on  to 
hold  midnight  court  with  her  Australian  stars.  There  and  there 
only,  in  barbarous  archipelagos,  as  yet  untrodden  by  civilized 
man,  the  name  of  Washington  is  unknown  ;  and  there,  too,  when 
they  swarm  with  enlightened  millions,  new  honors  shall  be  paid 
with  ours  to  his  memory. 

Edward  Everett. 


PRODUCTIONS. 


LESSON  76. 


ORAL  DISCOURSE— KINDS   OF. 

Having  treated  (i)  of  Invention,  the  finding  of  the 
subject-matter,  or  thought,  of  discourse,  and  (2)  of  Style, 
the  fitting  embodiment  of  the  thought  in  words,  there 
remain  for  notice  only  the  productions  into  which  dis- 
course may  be  divided — the  kinds  of  composition. 

Departments  of  the  Mind. — As  all  discourse,  appeal- 
ing to  the  ear  or  to  the  eye,  is  addressed  to  the  mind,  to 
group  the  powers  and  capacities  of  the  mind  addressed 
and  aroused  is  to  make  a  rough  scheme  of  literature. 
We  may  say,  then,  that  the  human  mind  can  be  trisected 
into  the  intellect,  the  emotive  nature,  and  the  will. 
Through  the  intellect  the  mind  perceives,  learns,  retains, 
recalls,  understands,  thinks  ;  through  the  emotive  nature 
it  is  susceptible  to  pleasure  and  to  pain,  experiences 
hope,  joy,  anger,  fear,  grief — the  whole  round  of  feelings 
and  desires  ;  and  through  the  will  it  elects  and  rejects, 
determines  to  do  and  not  to  do.     We  here  present 


ig6 


ProdMctions — Oral  Prose, 


A  SCHEME  OF  LITERATURE,  OR  DISCOURSE. 


^ 

Conversation. 

Debates. 

Orations. 

o 

Speeches. 

s 

Okal.  ^ 

Harangues. 

n 

Lectures. 

P 

Addresses. 

Pleas. 

^^ 

Sermons. 

P 

/* 

"  Treatises. 

S  . 

Histories. 

pq 

Travels. 

0!2 

Prose.  - 

Fiction. 

Letters. 

o 

Biographies. 

s 

Written.  < 

.  Essays. 

p 

"  Didactic  Poetry. 

M 
M 

Satirical  Poetry. 

< 

Poetry. . 

Lyric  Poetry. 
Pastoral  Poetry. 
Epic  Poetry. 

^ 

^ 

^  Dramatic  Poetry. 

All  discourse  is  intended,  as  was  said,  (i)  for  the  intel- 
lect, bringing  it  facts,  thoughts,  truths,  principles,  and 
building  it  up  in  knowledge  ;  or  (2)  for  the  emotive  na- 
ture, bringing  to  this  beauty-loving  part  of  us  the  suste-' 
nance  it  craves  ;  or  (3)  for  the  will,  aiming  to  dissuade 
us  from  or  persuade  us  to  any  act  or  line  of  action  or  of 
conduct.  Of  the  three  groups  seen  in  the  scheme  above, 
we  may  say,  speaking  generally,  that  that  which  forms 
the  prose  division  of  written  discourse  is  addressed  to  the 


Oral  Discourse,  197 


intellect,  aims  to  instruct  and  inform  it.  The  group 
forming  the  division  of  written  discourse  called  poetry 
aims  to  minister  to  our  feelings  and  desires  ;  while  the 
group  constituting  oral  discourse,  co-ordinate  with  writ- 
ten, is  dissuasive  or  persuasive,  and  bears  down  upon  the 
will. 

Oral  Discourse. — Since  oral  discourse  precedes  writ- 
ten in  the  order  of  time,  and  since  it  is  more  common 
and  necessary  than  written,  we  have  placed  it  first  in  the 
scheme.  Its  purpose,  in  the  main,  is  to  move  the  will, 
to  lead  it,  to  lead  the  man,  to  do  something  or  to  refrain 
from  doing  it.  The  lawyer  talking  at  the  bar,  the 
preacher  pleading  from  the  pulpit,  the  reformer  de- 
nouncing on  the  platform,  the  politician  haranguing 
from  the  stump,  the  statesman  debating  in  a  legislative 
assembly — all  who  write  or  speak  with  a  distinct  moral 
purpose,  aiming  this  one  at  a  verdict,  that  one  at  votes, 
every  one  at  a  change  in  belief  or  action  or  conduct,  so- 
cial, political,  or  religious, — all  are  training  their  guns 
upon  the  citadel  of  the  will,  the  fortress  of  one's  person- 
ality. 

Relation  of  the  Intellect  to  the  Feelings  and  to 
THE  Will. — When  it  is  said  that  poetry  brings  its  con- 
tents to  the  feelings,  and  that  oral  discourse,  persuasion, 
bears  down  upon  the  will,  we  must  not  forget  that  poetry 
can  reach  the  feelings  only  as  it  enters  the  mind  through 
the  door  of  the  intellect,  and  that  persuasion  can  reach 
the  will  only  through  the  door  of  the  intellect  and  that 
of  the  feelings.  In  illustration,  we  may  say  that  the  in- 
tellect is  a  bank-building  surrounding  on  all  sides  the 
vault  and  the  safe  within  the  vault.  The  feelings  are 
the  vault,  enclosed  within  the  structure  of  the  intellect, 
and  themselves  enclosing  the  safe.  The  will  is  the  safe, 
doubly-  enclosed.     There  is  possible,  then,  no  direct,  ng 


igS  Productio7is — Oral  Prose. 

immediate  approach  either  to  the  feelings  or  to  the  will — 
discourse  must  go  through  the  door  of  the  intellect  to 
reach  the  one,  must  go  through  the  door  of  the  intellect 
and  that  of  the  feelings  to  reach  the  other.  This  necessity 
both  persuasion  and  poetry  recognize.  The  staple  of  all 
effective  persuasion  is  argument,  and  argument  is  thought, 
and  thought  is  the  key  to  the  door  of  the  intellect.  But 
it  is  thought  of  such  a  kind,  so  instinct  with  passion,  that, 
while  it  convinces  the  understanding,  it  arouses  feeling 
and  begets  desire,  in  the  presence  and  in  the  opportunity 
of  which  alone  does  the  will  ever  act.  For  the  feelings 
wait  upon  the  intellect,  and  the  will  waits  upon  both. 

There  can  be,  then,  but  three  great  classes  of  discourse, 
since  there  are  but  three  ends  which  discourse  can  propose 
to  itself.  That  which  brings  its  contents  to  the  intellect 
appeals  directly  to  it ;  that  which  seeks  to  nourish  the 
feelings  brings,  at  the  same  time,  its  tribute  to  the  in- 
tellect ;  and  that  which  strives  to  take  captive  the  will 
must  first  carry  the  judgment  and  awaken  feeling  and 
desire.  But  there  may  be  many  subdivisions  of  these 
great  classes  of  discourse.  The  first  division  of  oral  dis- 
course we  shall  notice  is 

Conversation. — Conversation  is  discourse  between  two 
or  more  people.  Much  of  oral  discourse  is  written,  but 
written  to  be  spoken.  Conversation  never  is.  But  its 
value  as  preparatory  to  written  discourse,  to  be  spoken 
or  not  to  be,  is  beyond  estimate. 

I  Conversation  Widens  one's  View  of  his  Subject. — 
He  is  forced  to  look  at  this  through  the  eyes  of  another, 
and  he  sees  what  he  could  not  discover  for  himself. 
Under  the  stimulus  of  opposition,  he  is  carried  in  his 
own  thinking  over  territory  he  could  not  traverse  alone. 
He  learns  what  will  bear  the  heat  of  discussion  and  what 
will  not     He  sees  that  he  must  survey  a  subject  from 


Conversation,  199 


all  sides  if  he  would  handle  it  well,  finds  that  never  is  all 
the  truth  with  any  one  disputant,  has  his  own  opinions 
corrected  and  broadened,  settles  down  into  a  more 
modest  estimate  of  his  own  powers,  and  masters  what 
Curtis  says  is  the  great  lesson  of  travel — toleration. 

II.  Conversation  puts  one  in  Better  Possession  of 
HIS  Thought. — One  never  knows  that  he  knows  anything 
till  he  finds  himself  able  to  tell  others  of  it.  Communica- 
tion mirrors  to  us  the  exact  condition  of  our  knowledge. 
We  learn  by  teaching — learn  our  lack  and  how  to  supply 
it.  Conversation  makes  the  vague  definite,  and  tightens 
our  grasp  of  what  we  before  held  loosely. 

III.  Conversation  Teaches  us  how  to  Communicate.— 
It  teaches  one  where  to  begin  and  what  order  to  follow. 
It  gives  him  a  deft  handling  of  his  thought,  and  the  art 
of  putting  it  so  as  to  make  the  most  of  it.  He  learns 
from  it  that  the  strongest  point  may  fail  through  one's 
lack  of  tact  in  presenting  it — it  was  not  the  more  power- 
ful Rhoderick  Dhu  but  the  trained  and  skilful  Fitz- 
James  who  won  in  the  sword  duel.  He  attains  a  facile 
use  of  words.  Summoning  them  at  the  instant  bidding 
of  his  needs,  he  acquires  a  command  of  his  vocabulary. 
He  learns  to  choose  the  aptest  words.  Watching  the 
face  and  speech  of  his  opponent,  he  sees  whether  or  not 
the  words  used  have  carried  his  thought  home.  He  is 
taught  the  value  of  simple  words,  the  danger  of  verbi- 
age, the  necessity  of  an  arrangement  that  is  direct  and 
a  style  that  is  lucid.  He  learns  that,  while  he  is  not  to 
cease  firing  before  the  mark  is  hit,  he  must  stop  when 
it  is — while  bringing  his  thought  to  bear  from  many 
sides,  if  need  be,  he  must  stay  his  tongue  when  he  has 
lodged  his  thought  where  he  wants  it.  In  many  ways, 
then,  conversation  can  be  made  serviceable  to  the  writer 
or  public  speaker, 


200  Productions — Oral  Prose. 

Debates. — A  debate  is  a  formal  and  public  conversa- 
tion. Having  espoused  one  side  of  a  question,  the  de- 
bater arrays  all  the  facts  and  arguments  he  can  find 
which  support  his  position,  and  talks  not  so  much  to 
give  knowledge  as  to  establish  his  proposition.  What 
the  preparation  for  the  debate  and  the  discussion  of  the 
question  do  for  the  disputants  we  attempted  to  show  in 
our  model  given  in  Lesson  27.  All  that  was  said  there 
and,  in  the  same  Lesson,  on  the  Preparation  of  a  Frame- 
work, and  much  said,  in  this  Lesson,  on  Conversation, 
might  be  repeated  and  emphasized  here. 

Burden  of  Proof  and  Presumption.— We  wish  to  add 
that,Mn  ordinary  conversation,  in  debate,  in  orations,  in 
spoken  and  written  efforts  of  all  kinds,  you  should  not  dis- 
regard what  is  called  The  Burden  of  Proof  and  The 
Presumption.  Whoever  attacks  anything  takes  upon 
himself  the  burden  of  demonstrating  its  unreasonable- 
ness or  falsity — of  showing  cause  why  it  should  be 
changed  or  abolished.  His  is  the  laboring  oar.  With 
that  which  is  attacked  lies  the  presumption  that  it  has  a 
right  to  exist.  Its  existence  does  not  establish  that 
right,  else  "  Whatever  is,  is  right,"  and  there  should  be 
no  change,  and  could  be  no  improvement.  But  its  de- 
fenders are  not  called  upon  to  prove  that  it  is  reason- 
able or  true,  and  therefore  has  a  right  to  be.  Exemp- 
tion from  proving  this  is  assumed,  and  this  the  assailant 
concedes. 

The  Burden  of  Proof  is  the  labor  of  proving  the  un- 
reasonableness or  the  falsity  of  that  which  is  assailed, 
and  the  truth  of  that  which  is  offered  as  a  substitute. 

The  Presumption  is  the  exemption  from  all  labor  in 
debate  save  that  of  defence. 

Presumption,  as  Whately  says,  is  like  a  fortress  within 
which  the  defenders  may  fight.      All  they  are  called 


The  Oration.  201 


upon  to  do  in  order  to  win  is  to  ward  off  attacks — repel 
the  assailants.  The  fortress  itself  may  be  sufficient  for 
this,  it  is,  at  least,  a  powerful  protection.  But  if,  aban- 
doning this  figurative  fortress,  as  Charles  of  Lorraine 
at  Leuthen  abandoned  his  real  one,  the  defenders  sally- 
forth  to  fight  without  its  walls,  they  may,  like  him,  be 
beaten. 

The  presumption  of  innocence  belongs  to  every  one 
until  he  is  proved  guilty.  Anyone  arrested  and  accused 
is  held  in  duress  only  to  allow  the  prosecutor  to  attempt 
the  proof  of  his  guilt.  If  he  fails,  the  accused  is  dis- 
charged. Presumption,  as  has  been  said,  lies  with  every 
existing  institution.  By  a  skilful  throwing  back  of  the 
question  to  a  time  when  the  institution  did  not  exist,  the 
burden  of  proof  may  be  shifted,  and  the  defenders  of  it 
may  be  called  upon  to  show  cause  why  it  arose  and  ex- 
ists. If  this  is  allowed  by  them,  they  assume  the  labor 
of  proof,  and  lose  the  presumption. 

The  Oration. — An  oration  is  a  discourse  delivered  be- 
fore an  audience  of  scholars.  Some  orations  commem- 
orate great  events,  like  the  Landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  the  laying  of  a  corner-stone, 
the  death  of  a  great  statesmen  or  scholar ;  others  are  pre- 
pared for  the  anniversaries  of  literary  societies,  as  those 
of  college  alumni  or  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  fraternity  ; 
and  even  the  speeches  of  the  ancient  orators  come  down  to 
us  with  the  title  of  orations.  All  such  efforts  take  their 
key-note  from  the  occasion,  and,  as  this  is  never  common- 
place, so  they  are  never  familiar  and  colloquial,  but  la- 
bored, graceful,  polished,  and  dignified,  disclosing  rare 
scholarship,  and  abounding,  often,  in  classic  allusion. 
We  use  the  word  oration  to  denote,  also,  the  spoken  pro- 
ductions of  youth  in  schools  and  colleges.  It  may  be 
of  service  to  the  student  to  say  something  of  these  pro- 


202  Pi^oductions — Oral  Prose. 

ductions.  They  borrow  no  importance  from  the  occa- 
sion for  which  they  are  prepared,  but  must  rely  for 
that  on  their  intrinsic  merit.  What  was  said,  in  Lesson 
27,  upon  the  Preparation  of  a  Framework  is  in  point  here 
— there  must  be  the  selection  of  a  subject,  the  accumu- 
lation of  material,  the  planning  and  putting  together 
of  the  structure.  But  the  consideration  that  a  subject 
and  a  style  of  treatment  suitable  to  an  essay  would  be 
ill-suited  to  an  oration,  since  the  oration  is  to  be  spoken 
and  not  read,  is  all-important,  and  justifies  an  addi- 
tional word. 

I.  The  Choice  of  a  Subject. — A  subject  should  be  taken 
which  is  adapted  to  awaken  in  the  speaker  not  thought 
only,  but  also  feeling.  Abstract  subjects  or  subjects 
merely  speculative  are  not  suited  to  the  student's  purpose. 
The  subject  should  be  one  that  in  some  demonstrable 
way  is  concerned  with  the  well-being  of  mankind — the 
reformation  of  some  abuse,  the  just  claims  of  some  frac- 
tion of  the  race,  the  improvement  of  humanity  in  some 
particular,  the  rights,  the  wrongs,  the  duties,  or  the  de- 
velopment of  men.  It  may  be  some  question  of  the 
hour,  agitating  men's  minds,  or  some  older  topic  that 
can  never  be  exhausted  or  cease  to  interest.  If  the  sub- 
ject has  in  it  this  hwnan  element,  and,  in  addition,  is  a 
question  upon  which  men  are  not  at  one,  so  that  the 
speaker  may  have,  or  imagine  that  he  has,  an  opponent 
to  spur  him  to  his  utmost,  all  is  done  that  the  subject 
can  do  to  incite  him  to  his  best  thinking,  kindle  strong 
feeling,  give  point  and  weight  to  his  style,  and  anima- 
tion to  his  delivery. 

II.  The  Feamework. — Select  from  your  analysis  of  the 
subject  not  more  than  two  or  three  points.  But  let  these 
be  pivotal — points  which,  if  made,  will  establish  what 
you  aim  to  prove.     The  historic  battles  are  not  won  by 


The  Oration —  Treahnent  and  Parts,     203 


defending  or  capturing  tlje  fortresses  all  along  the  line, 
but  by  holding  or  carrying  those  which  form  the  key  of 
the  position.  The  great  debaters  are  those  who  have 
the  discernment  to  see  what  points  are  commanding, 
and  who,  neglecting  all  else,  concentrate  their  forces 
upon  these  and  make  them  impregnable.  We  do  not 
listen  and  assent  to  one  for  his  "  much  speaking,"  but 
for  his  wise  speaking. 

III.  The  Treatment.— Energy  is  the  quality  of  style 
which  should  dominate  in  your  orations.  Words  and 
figures  of  speech  should  be  chosen  for  vigor  rather  than 
for  beauty.  Keep  to  the  concrete  as  far  as  possible,  and 
array  specific  instances  in  the  way  of  illustration  and 
proof.  In  the  arrangement  of  complex  sentences,  place 
the  dependent  and  qualifying  clauses  before  the  inde- 
pendent and  the  qualified — the  wasp  carries  its  formi- 
dable weapon  in  its  tail.  Let  this  suggest  the  order  of 
the  points,  where  nothing  else  determines  it, — those  ab- 
solutely weak  being  dropped — and  the  development  of 
each.  While  deep  feeling  should  characterize  the  oration 
as  a  whole,  yet  each  paragraph  should  begin  colloqui- 
ally, and  should  deepen  in  thought  and  emotion  as  it 
proceeds,  the  burden,  carried,  intensifying  to  the  close. 
Long  sentences  and  periods  are  in  place  here — great 
momentum  cannot  be  attained  if  all  the  sentences  are 
broken  into  fragments,  or  the  stops  are  frequent.  Great 
variety,  especially  in  the  kind,  length,  and  character  of 
the  sentences  used,  should  distinguish  the  oration. 

IV.  The  Parts.— The  parts  of  an  oration  are  three — the 
introduction,  or  exordium,  the  discussion,  and  the  perora- 
tion, or  conclusion.  The  introduction  should  be  brief  and 
graceful,  and  should  pave  the  way  neatly  to  the  dis- 
cussion ;  the  discussion  should  be  honest  and  thorough  ; 
and  the  peroration  should  match  the  discussion,  looking 


204  Productions — Oral  Prose, 

back  to  the  whole  of  it  in  recapitulation  or  inference  or 
application,  and  fitly  closing  it. 

Whether  the  proposition  to  be  proved  should  be 
stated  before  the  discussion  or  at  the  close  of  it  de- 
pends largely  upon  your  decision  of  the  question,  Is 
it  or  is  it  not  agreeable  to  my  auditors?  If  not  agree- 
able, it  should  be  withheld,  and  the  audience  should  be 
carried  along  by  the  argument  and  be  forced,  at  the 
close  of  the  discussion,  to  accept  the  statement  and 
the  proof  of  it.  The  introduction  you  may  write  last, 
though  it  stands  first — we  build  the  porch  not  before, 
but  after,  the  house  is  erected,  though  we  place  it  in 
front. 

Speeches. — Speeches  are  oral  discourses  usually  de- 
livered in  legislative  assemblies  or  before  political 
bodies.  Among  the  great  spoken  efforts  that  survive 
in  English  are  the  speeches  made  in  Parliament  and 
in  Congress.  Of  Parliamentary  speeches,  some  have 
treated  of  the  political  rights  of  the  people,  of  the  pre- 
rogatives of  the  Crown,  of  the  relation  and  duties  of 
England  to  her  Colonies  and  of  her  Colonies  to  her, 
of  the  foreign  policy  of  the  government,  and  of  church, 
financial,  and  land  questions.  Some  of  those  made  in 
Congress  have  dealt  with  the  nature  of  the  central 
government,  with  its  relation  to  the  states  composing 
the  Union  and  to  the  territories,  with  the  tariff,  with 
internal  improvements,  with  the  currency,  with  our  re- 
lations to  the  Indians  and  to  foreign  powers,  and  with 
negro  slavery. 

Their  Style  and  Value. — These  speeches  contain  the 
best  thought  of  the  wisest  statesmen,  and  have  been  of 
service  in  settling  intricate  national  and  international 
questions,  and  shaping  the  foreign  and  domestic  pol- 
icy of  governments.      Delivered   on   opposite   sides  of 


speeches,  205 

questions  that  have  called  for  a  vote,  they  have  called 
out  all  the  legal  and  political  learning  of  the  ablest 
public  men,  and  all  their  powers  of  reasoning  and  per- 
suasion. Republics  and  limited  monarchies,  in  which 
the  fullest  freedom  of  speech  is  enjoyed,  are  favorable 
to  this  kind  of  discourse.  The  subject-matter  of  these 
speeches  is  usually  thoroughly  prepared,  but  commonly 
the  speeches  are  not  written  out — the  wording  of  the 
thought  being  left  to  the  occasion.  With  some  justice 
our  Congressional  speaking  has  been  accused  of  a  style 
bombastic  and  declamatory  ;  but  it  is  thought  that  age 
will  bring  sedateness  to  the  national  spirit,  and  beget  a 
disposition  among  our  orators  to  fly  with  less  of  ''  soar  " 
and  '^spread-eagle"  in  their  movement. 

Campaign  Speeches.  — Our  annual  and  presidential 
elections  form  a  valuable  school  for  the  cultivation  of 
public  speaking.  The  principles  of  the  contending 
political  parties  are  expounded,  and  criticised  or  de- 
fended, the  merits  of  the  rival  candidates  are  canvassed, 
and  the  duties  of  the  citizens  at  the  polls  are  enforced 
in  these  speeches.  These  campaigns  are  highly  excit- 
ing;  callow  youth  and  fledgling  politicians  "take  the 
stump ;"  every  hamlet  has  its  gatherings,  and  every 
larger  town  its  mass-meetings  ;  and  the  land  rings  with 
the  noisy  conflict  of  opinions.  When,  as  often  happens, 
ignorance,  misrepresentation,  sophistry,  and  appeals  to 
the  lower  passions  mark  these  speeches,  they  deserve, 
and  should  receive,  no  higher  title  than  harangues. 

After-Dinner  Speeches  should  be  graceful,  abound- 
ing in  wit,  happy  allusions,  and  ready  repartee,  and 
should  be  marked  by  a  style  suited  to  the  occasion 
and  to  the  toasts,  or  sentiments,  which  call  them  forth. 

Lectures  and  Addresses. — Lectures  and  Addresses  are 
oral  discourses  delivered    before  lyceums    and    lecture 


2  o6  P7^oductions —  Oral  Prose, 


associations.  Such  institutions  are  found,  one  in  almost 
every  village  of  the  North  and  West,  and  local  talent  is 
drafted  and  foreign  engaged  for  the  annual  course.  The 
topics  discussed  in  these  lectures  are  exhaustless  in  variety, 
as  are  also  the  styles  in  which  they  are  treated.  Such 
efforts  are  mainly  intended  to  instruct,  not  a  few  are 
meant  to  amuse,  and  some  to  persuade.  They  have 
been,  and  are  still,  though  in  a  waning  degree,  a  means 
of  popular  education.  Many  of  our  best  speakers  have 
served  an  apprenticeship  on  the  platform,  and  have 
learned  from  it  invaluable  lessons.  Lectures  are  usually 
written. 

Pleas. — The  oral  discourses  delivered  by  lawyers  are 
usually,  but  perhaps  improperly,  caWtd p/eas.  The  occa- 
sions which  give  birth  to  them  are  suits-at-law  concern- 
ing property,  and  the  trials  of  those  accused  of  misde- 
meanors and  crimes.  They  are  based  upon  the  docu- 
ments submitted,  upon  the  testimony  of  witnesses 
summoned  to  testify,  and  upon  the  law  applicable  to  the 
case.  They  classify  the  evidence  given,  point  to  the  con- 
clusions which  this  establishes,  and  suggest  to  the  juries 
the  verdicts  they  should  bring  in.  They  are  extem- 
porary, the  lawyer  talking  from  the  points  set  down  in 
his  brief.  From  the  importance  of  the  questions  involved, 
and  from  the  ability  displayed  in  handling  them,  some 
of  these  efforts  have  passed  into  permanent  literature. 

Sermons. — Sermons  are  oral  discourses  delivered  by 
preachers  before  religious  bodies.  The  topic  discussed 
in  a  sermon  is  taken  from  some  verse  or  passage  in  the 
Bible,  and  the  sermon  consists  of  a  development  and  an 
enforcement  of  the  truth  found  in  it,  and  an  application  of 
it  to  the  conduct  and  life  of  the  hearers.  The  design  of 
the  sermon  is  to  teach  what  is  to  be  believed  concerning 
God  and  our  relations  to  him  and  to  our  fellows,  and  to 


Sermons,  207 


lead  us  to  be  and  to  do  what  is  becoming  to  us,  and  im- 
perative upon  us,  as  accountable  beings.  Our  moral  and 
religious  duties — the  duties  we  owe  to  ourselves,  to  our 
neighbors,  and  to  God — furnish  the  preacher  his  sub- 
jects. The  range  of  them  is  immense  ;  and  their  impor- 
tance is  beyond  estimate,  since  they  have  to  do  with  the 
forming  of  the  most  precious  thing  conceivable — human 
character.  The  preacher's  function  is  extending  with 
the  advance  made  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures, 
with  the  disclosure  of  new  mines  of  truth  in  them,  and 
with  the  application  of  it  to  us  in  the  relations  which  we 
sustain  to  others — ever  increasing  in  number  and  in 
reach.  No  other  species  of  oral  discourse  ranks  with  the 
sermon  in  variety  and  dignity  of  topics,  and  in  the  im- 
portance of  the  motives  arrayed  and  of  the  ends  presented. 
The  lawyer  seeks  to  redress  wrongs,  the  preacher  seeks  to 
prevent  them  ;  the  occupation  of  the  one  would  decline, 
were  the  teaching  of  the  other  completely  effective. 
Sermons  may  be  written — volumes  of  these  are  in  every 
library. 


LESSON  TY. 

WRITTEN   DISCOURSE — PROSE,    KINDS   OF. 

The  prose  division  of  written  discourse  is  intended 
mainly  to  nourish  that  department  of  the  mind  which  is 
called  the  intellect.  Its  purpose  is  chiefly  didactic,  in- 
forming and  instructing  this  cognitive  part  of  the  mind, 
by  furnishing  it  facts,  truths,  and  thoughts.  We  say 
that  this  is  mainly  its  function,  but,  in  certain  subdi- 
visions of  it,  we  shall  see  that  the  author  cherishes  a 
moral  purpose  as  well,  attempts  the  reformation  of  some 


2oS  Productions —  Written  Prose. 

abuse,  or  tries  to  leave  some  silt  of  deposit  upon  char- 
acter. 

Treatises. — A  treatise  is  a  written  work  containing  the 
principles  and  the  facts  of  any  science  or  art.  We  have 
a  right  to  demand  of  a  treatise  that  the  facts  shall  be 
grouped  into  the  classes  to  which  they  belong ;  that  the 
principles  governing  this  classification  shall  be  reason- 
able and  apparent ;  that  a  rigid  gradation  shall  be  ob- 
served throughout,  subordinating  and  co-ordinating, 
and  bringing  the  parts  into  a  scheme  that  brackets 
them  all,  holds  everything  in  its  place,  and  enables  the 
reader  to  get  a  correct  view  of  the  parts,  in  their  relation 
to  each  other  and  to  the  whole,  by  a  glance  at  the  table 
of  contents  ;  that  the  definitions  shall  be  brief,  simple, 
accurate,  and  adequate ;  and  that  the  style  and  treat- 
ment from  beginning  to  end  shall  be  clear  and  exact. 

Histories. — A  history  is  a  written  work  detailing  the 
achievements  of  a  nation.  Its  purpose  is  instruction.  It 
teaches  us  the  bent,  or  genius,  of  the  nation,  what  has 
been  its  government  and  whether  helpful  or  hurtful  to 
the  people,  what  its  solution  of  the  great  social,  political, 
and  religious  problems,  what  great  things  it  has  done  and 
by  what  means,  what  its  influence  upon  other  nations, 
and  what  measures  have  made  it  strong  or  weak. 

The  topics  formerly  discussed  by  the  historian  were  the 
nation's  martial  exploits  by  land  and  sea,  the  majesty 
and  power  of  its  rulers,  the  wealth  of  its  nobles,  the 
literature  of  its  scholars,  the  deeds  of  its  heroes,  and  its 
bearing  toward  surrounding  nations. 

The  topics  now  discussed  concern  rather  the  condition 
of  the  people.  What  are  the  houses  in  which  they  live 
and  with  what  conveniences  are  these  furnished,  what 
dress  do  they  wear,  what  do  they  eat  and  drink,  what  is 
their  education,  their  religion  and  how  do  they  worship, 


Histories,  209 


what  are  their  occupations  and  their  sanitary  regulations, 
by  what  laws  are  they  governed,  what  is  the  measure  of 
freedom  they  enjoy,  what  have  been  their  struggles  for  it, 
and  of  what  rights  are  they  still  deprived — these  and 
such  as  these  are  the  questions  that  engross  the  his- 
torian of  to-day.  Only  within  a  short  time  have  the 
Chinese  walls  of  class  and  national  exclusiveness  been 
broken  down,  and  a  conscious  feeling  of  the  brotherhood 
of  mankind  has  obtained.  People  now  are  curious,  anx- 
ious, to  know  of  other  people.  Only  recently,  too,  have 
the  national  archives  unlocked  their  treasures,  and 
spread  state  papers  and  official  records  before  the  his- 
torian for  his  inspection  and  use. 

The  spirit  in  which  history  is  now  written  is  that  of  the 
humble,  but  jealous,  seeker  for  truth — truth  for  its  own 
sake,  and  truth  for  the  sake  of  the  lessons  it  can  teach. 
The  mountains  of  material  now  available  are  brought 
into  the  focus  of  the  most  critical  scrutiny.  Whatever  will 
not  stand  the  test  of  the  severest  skepticism  is  rejected. 
Documents  are  subjected  to  microscopic  inspection,  au- 
thorities are  interrogated,  and  testimony  weighed  and 
sifted  with  a  patience,  a  diligence,  and  a  discriminating 
judgment  unknown  to  our  ancestors,  who  blindly  fol- 
lowed tradition,  by  whom  myth  was  taken  for  fact,  and 
error  in  the  guise  of  truth  passed  undetected  and  even 
unchallenged.  It  is  said  that,  in  the  preparation  of  a 
recent  history  of  England,  200,000  documents,  mostly  in 
manuscript  and  in  many  languages,  were  consulted.  We 
are  not  to  look  for  absolutely  impartial  and  authentic  his- 
tories. A  fact  must  take  some  form  and  color  from  the 
eye  that  sees  it,  and  it  may  be  harnessed  into  the  service  of 
a  certain  theory,  or  it  may  not,  according  as  the  historian 
accepts  the  theory  or  rejects  it ; — nay,  the  same  fact  can 
be  made  to  pull  in  opposite  directions  h^  two  rnen  whp^e 


2IO  Productions— Written  Prose, 

creeds  are  mutually  opposed.  One  m^iVi  s  parceque  is  an- 
other's quoique^  that  is,  what  one  holds  to  have  been 
caused  by  some  agency  another  regards  as  existing  in 
spite  of  it.  This  we  must  expect,  but  perhaps  there  is 
less  of  the  calm  and  judicial  spirit  among  historians  of 
to-day  than,  at  first,  we  are  inclined  to  believe.  We 
must  remember,  however,  that  historians  are  but  men 
with  religious  and  political  biases  ;  without  intending  or 
even  knowing  it,  they  look  upon  things  with  the  eyes  of 
partisans,  are  blind  to  the  significance  of  certain  facts, 
and  see  in  others  what  they  themselves  put  into  them. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  those  pen  portraits  of  the 
great  actors  in  human  affairs,  which  form  so  valuable  a 
feature  of  history — most  of  them  masterly  and  enduring, 
but  some  of  them  painted  in  colors  already  fading. 

The  style  both  in  matter  and  in  manner  is  varied. 
The  narration  of  events,  the  description  of  men  and  of 
things,  the  drawing  of  warranted  conclusions,  making 
history  teach  by  example,  and  the  application  of  its 
lessons  to  questions  agitating  the  world  at  the  time  of 
the  historian — these  call,  now  for  the  most  vigorous  and 
logical  exercise  of  his  reasoning  faculty,  and  now  for  the 
spacious  flights  of  his  imagination,  and  demand  a  word- 
ing which  shall  range  from  dry  and  matter-of-fact  up 
through  all  grades  of  expression  to  the  ornate  and  ele- 
gant. Histories  form  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  use- 
ful departments  of  literature. 

Travels. — A  book  of  travels  is  a  work  which  pictures 
places  and  peoples  visited  by  the  author.  It  gives  his 
views  of  what  he  has  himself  seen.  Such  works  are 
entertaining  and  instructive,  though  they  do  not  pretend 
to  be  more  than  cursory  and  superficial,  and  should  be 
read  by  all  who  desire  a  knowledge  of  countries  they 
have  not  seen,  and  of  contemporary  events  enacting  be- 


Fiction.  211 

yond  their  immediate  vision.  They  form  an  important 
part  of  literature ;  though,  when  compared  with  history 
proper,  to  which  they  are  tributary,  they  are  light  and 
ephemeral. 

Fiction. — A  work  of  fiction  is  a  production  which  de- 
picts the  lives  of  imaginary  persons.  It  may,  indeed, 
deal  with  real  men  and  women  ;  but,  when  it  does  this, 
does  not  claim  to  tell  what  they  actually  said  and  did. 
Ordinarily,  a  work  of  fiction  treats  only  of  imaginary 
persons,  though  it  treats  of  them  as  if  they  were  real. 
It  has  to  do  with  the  motives  that  influence  persons, 
with  the  behavior  of  such  persons  under  that  influence, 
and  with  the  development  of  character  under  the  condi- 
tions imposed. 

It  aims,  then,  at  the  portrayal  of  character,  and 
seeks  to  give  a  just  insight  into  human  nature.  Some 
novelists  show  wonderful  power  in  their  impersona- 
tions, building  up  on  the  page  before  us  their  men 
and  women,  rounding  them  inco  completeness,  and 
yet  keeping  them  as  distinct  from  each  other  as  are 
the  real  men  and  women  about  us.  Others,  in  their 
anxiety  to  preserve  the  individuality  of  their  person- 
ages, make  them  the  embodiment  each  of  some  single 
trait ;  and,  instead  of  characters,  present  us  caricatures. 
In  the  novel,  dialogue  abounds  ;  and  in  this  each  person 
reveals  his  peculiarities  and  paints  himself — the  picture 
being  completed  by  the  touches  which  the  author  adds 
when  speaking,  in  his  own  name,  of  him.  Great  ingenuity 
is  sometimes  shown  in  the  construction  of  the  plot,  and 
in  the  management  of  the  incidents  by  which  the  action 
of  the  story  is  carried  forward,  and  the  characters  are 
made  to  grow  before  our  eyes.  Love  forms,  in  great 
part,  the  staple  of  the  novel,  and  it  is  this  which  gives  the 
produgtion  n^ugh  of  its  fasciqating  interest  even  for  adults, 


2 1 2  Productions —  Written  Prose, 

Some  novels  teach  us  much  concerning  the  customs, 
habits,  manners,  domestic  and  social  life,  and  even  his- 
tory of  the  people  during  the  age  in  which  the  scenes 
are  laid.  The  pages  of  our  best  novels  are  strewn  with 
wise  thoughts,  also,  which  betray  keen  analysis,  accurate 
observation,  and  powers  of  broad  generalization.  And, 
thrown  into  the  novel,  these  are  read  by  thousands  who 
would  never  see  them  if  they  stood  in  works  professedly 
serious  or  philosophical. 

Some  novels  have  a  purpose  beyond  mere  instruction. 
They  aim  to  interest  us  in  classes  of  society  whose  con- 
dition should  be  improved,  to  lay  open,  to  the  attention 
of  the  public,  certain  evils  ;  and,  if  need  be,  to  bring  legis- 
lation into  play  to  redress  them. 

The  place  of  the  novel  in  literature  and  its  claim  upon 
tjie  reader  are,  perhaps,  obvious  from  what  has  been  said. 
Though  one  of  the  latest  born  of  the  departments  of 
literature,  one  might  infer  that  fiction  has  been  rapid 
in  its  growth,  and  that  its  stature  is  already  gigantic. 
Supply  keeps  pace  with  demand,  and  it  need  not  be  said 
that  no  spur  is  wanted  to  urge  one  into  the  field  of  fiction. 
Though  it  gives  insight  into  human  nature,  teaches  his- 
tory, probes  festering  evils,  abounds  in  striking  thoughts 
and  rare  descriptions,  and  has  all  the  wealth  of  style 
lavished  upon  it,  yet  it  is  safe  to  insist  that  fiction  should 
not  be  read  to  the  neglect  of  other  branches  of  litera- 
ture. And  is  it  not  also  within  bounds  to  say  that  it  is 
supplanting  its  elder  brothers  in  popular  regard  and 
getting  the  blessing  that  does  not  belong  to  it  ?  The 
bit  of  restraint  should  here  be  put  into  the  mouths  of 
our  youth.  The  novel  should  be  read  as  an  amusement 
and  a  relaxation,  and  this  implies  that  it  should  only 
alternate  with  more  solid  reading.  And  to  get  out  of 
the  novel  the  best  lessons  it  c^a  teach,  the  reader  should^ 


Fiction  and  Letters.  ^13 

in  some  way,  deliver  himself  from  the  excitement  of  the 
story.  This  it  is  which  hurries  him  over  the  pages  and 
on  with  a  rush  to  the  crisis,  and  seals  his  eyes  to  that 
for  which  almost  alone  the  book  should  be  read.  We 
almost  dare  advise  the  reader  that,  if  need  be,  he  should, 
at  the  start,  look  on  to  the  end  to  see  how  the  hero  and 
heroine  prosper,  how  things  in  general  issue,  and  then 
return  to  the  beginning  and  carefully  gather  the  harvest 
worth  reaping  from  the  pages.  He  should  remember 
that  to  become  intensely  alive  to  fancied  suffering  and 
be  kindled  to  keen  sympathy  with  fictitious  personages, 
without  opportunity  to  translate  these  feelings  into  act, 
and  to  do  what  he  is  moved  to  do,  are  unhealthful,  and 
tend  to  deaden  him  to  the  woes  and  sufferings  of  the 
real  world. 

Allegories  are  a  species  of  fiction  in  which  virtues, 
vices,  and  difficulties  are  personified,  and  great  moral 
duties  inculcated.  They  are  less  frequently  written  now 
than  formerly.  There  are  a  few  in  classic  English  liter- 
ature. 

Fables  are  short  stories  in  which,  by  the  imagined 
dealings  of  men  with  animals  or  mere  things,  or  by  the 
supposed  doings  of  these  alone,  useful  lessons  are 
taught. 

Parables  are  short  accounts  of  something  real  or 
supposed,  used  by  our  Lord  in  illustration  or  enforce- 
ment of  his  teaching. 

Letters. — A  letter  is  a  written  communication  from 
one  person  to  another.  Usually  letters  are  upon  matters 
purely  personal  and  private,  are  letters  of  friendship  or 
letters  of  business  ;  sometimes  they  are  upon  topics  of 
general  concern  and  are  thought  worthy  of  publication. 
Some  of  these,  because  of  the  standing  of  the  writer  and 
the  universal  desire  to  learn  all  that  can  be  known  of  his 


2 1 4  Productions —  Written  Prose, 

character  and  situation,  from  the  importance  of  the  sub- 
jects discussed,  or  from  the  exquisite  style  in  which  his 
thought  is  couched,  have  been  gathered  into  volumes, 
and  form  a  valuable  part  of  literature. 

Not  every  pupil  can  reasonably  aspire  to  write  his- 
tories or  works  of  fiction,  but  every  one  writes  letters. 
This  fact  coupled  with  another — that  a  letter  has  several 
parts,  each  of  which  has  a  definite  and  proper  form — 
justifies  us  in  devoting  a  few  pages  to  the  subject  of 

Letter- Weiting.* — In  writing  a  letter  there  are  five 
things  to  consider — the  heading,  the  introduction,  the 
body  of  the  letter,  the  conclusion,  and  the  superscription. 

I.  The  Heading. — The  heading  consists  of  the  name 
of  the  place  at  which  the  letter  is  written,  and  the  date. 
If  you  write  from  a  city  like  St.  Louis,  Boston,  or  New 
York,  give  the  door-number,  the  name  of  the  street,  of 
the  city,  and  of  the  state.  If  you  are  at  a  hotel  or  a  school, 
its  name  may  take  the  place  of  the  door-number  and  the 
name  of  the  street.  If  in  a  small  country  place,  give 
your  post-office  address,  the  name  of  the  county,  and 
that  of  the  state. 

The  date  consists  of  the  month,  the  day  of  the  month, 
and  the  year. 

How  Written. — Begin  the  heading  about  an  inch  and 
a  half  from  the  top  of  the  page — on  the  first  ruled  line 
of  commercial  note — and  a  little  to  the  left  of  the  middle 
of  the  page.  If  the  heading  is  very  short,  it  may  stand 
on  one  line.  If  it  occupies  more  than  one  line,  the 
second  line  should  begin  farther  to  the  right  than  the 
first,  and  the  third  farther  to  the  right  than  the  second. 
The  date   stands  upon   a  line   by  itself  if  the  heading 


*  What  is  said  here  on  letter-writing  is  copied,  with  some  change, 
from  Reed  and  Kellogg's  "  Graded  Lessons  in  English." 


Letter-  Writing,  ^15 

occupies  two  or  more  lines.  The  door-number,  the 
day  of  the  month,  and  the  year  are  written  in  figures,  the 
rest  in  words.  Each  important  word  begins  with  a 
capital  letter,  each  item  is  set  off  by  the  comma,  and  the 
whole  closes  with  a  period. 

Direction. — Study  what  has  been  said,  and  write  the  following 
headings  according  to  these  models  : — 

1.  Bath,  Maine,  Oct.  5,  1880.      3.  Plattsburgh,  N.  Y., 

2.  527  Michigan  Ave.,  Sept.  11,  1814. 

Chicago,  111.,  4.  Sharon,  Litchfield  Co.,  Conn., 

May  3,  1880.  November  8,  1880. 

I.  n  y  albany  executive  chamber  jan  i860  5.  2.  4  long  island 
Jamaica  1879  july.  3."  house  apr  pierrepont  1880  brooklyn  i 
new  york.  4.  newfoundland  n  y  buffalo  ave  4  february  569 
1880.  5.  nov  CO  Washington  mo  27  ripley  1875.  6.  1876  hull 
oct  8  mass.  7.  st  new  york  city  643  clinton  5  dec  1796.  8.  Ver- 
mont d  c  ave  Washington  1880  16  march  378. 

II.  The  Introduction. — The  introduction  consists  of 
the  address — the  name,  the  title,  and  the  place  of  business 
or  the  residence  of  the  one  addressed — and  the  saluta- 
tion. Titles  of  respect  and  courtesy  should  appear  in 
the  address.  Prefix  Mr.  to  a  man's  name  ;  Messrs.  to 
the  names  of  several  gentlemen  ;  Miss  to  that  of  a  young 
lady  ;  Mrs.  to  that  of  a  married  lady.  Prefix,  Dr.  to  the 
name  of  a  physician^  but  never  Mr.  Dr.;  Rev.  to  the 
name  of  a  clergyman,  or  Rev.  Mr.  if  you  do  not  know 
his  christian  name  ;  Rev.  Dr.  if  he  is  a  Doctor  of  Divin- 
ity, or  write  Rev.  before  the  name  and  D.D.  after  it. 
Prefix  His  Excellency  to  the  name  of  the  President,  and 
to  that  of  a  governor  or  of  an  ambassador ;  Hon.  to 
the  name  of  a  cabinet  officer,  a  member  of  Congress, 
a  state  senator,  a  law  judge,  or  a  mayor.  Give  the 
title   of  her   husband   to   a  married   lady,   as   Mrs.  Dr, 


2i6  Productions — Written  Prose, 

Smith,  Mrs.  Secretary  Evarts,  Mrs.  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman. 
If  two  literary  or  professional  titles  are  added  to  a  name, 
let  them  stand  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  conferred 
— this  is  the  order  of  a  few  common  ones  :  A.M.,  Ph.D., 
D.D.,  LL.D.  Guard  against  an  excessive  use  of  titles 
— the  higher  implies  the  lower. 

Salutations  vary  with  the  station  of  the  one  addressed, 
or  the  writer's  degree  of  intimacy  with  him.  Strangers 
may  be  addressed  as  Sir,  Rev.  Sir,  General,  Madam,  etc.; 
acquaintances  as  Dear  Sir,  Dear  Madam,  etc.;  friends  as 
My  dear  Sir,  My  dear  Madam,  My  dear  Jones,  etc.;  and 
near  relatives  and  other  dear  friends  as  My  dear  Wife, 
My  dear  Boy,  Dearest  Ellen,  etc. 

How  Written. — The  address  may  follow  the  heading, 
beginning  on  the  next  line,  or  the  next  but  one,  and 
standing  on  the  left  side  of  the  page  ;  or  it  may  stand  in 
corresponding  position  after  the  body  of  the  letter  and 
the  conclusion.  If  the  letter  is  written  to  a  very  in- 
timate friend,  or  if  it  is  an  official  letter,  the  address 
may  appropriately  be  placed  at  the  bottom  ;  but  in 
other  letters,  especially  those  on  ordinary  business,  it 
should  be  placed  at  the  top  and  as  directed  above. 
Never  omit  it  from  a  letter  except  when  this  is  written 
in  the  third  person.  There  should  always  be  a  narrow 
margin  on.  the  left-hand  side  of  the  page,  and  the  ad- 
dress should  always  begin  on  the  marginal  line.  If  the 
address  occupies  more  than  one  line,  the  initial  words 
of  these  lines  should  slope  to  the  right,  as  in  the  heading. 

Begin  the  salutation  on  the  marginal  line  or,  better, 
a  little  to  the  right  of  it,  when  the  address  occupies 
three  lines  ;  on  the  marginal  line  or,  better,  to  the  right 
of  it  or  farther  to  the  right  than  the  second  line  of  the 
address  begins,  when  this  occupies  two  lines  ;  a  little  to 
the  right  of  the  marginal  line,  when  the  address  occu- 


Letter-  Writing.  1 1 7 


pies  one  line  ;  on  the  marginal  liae,  when   the  address 
stands  below. 

Every  important  word  in  the  address  should  begin 
with  a  capital  letter.  All  the  items  of  it  should  be  set 
off  by  the  comma,  and,  as  it  is  an  abbreviated  sentence, 
it  should  close  with  a  period.  Every  important  word  in 
the  salutation  should  begin  with  a  capital  letter,  and 
the  whole  should  be  followed  by  a  comma. 

Direction. — Study  what  has  been  said,  and  write  the  following  in- 
troductions according  to  these  models  : — 

1.  My  dear  Mother,  3.  Hon.  John  W.  Stewart, 

Your—  Middlebury,  Vt. 

2.  Mr.  Stephen  A.  Walker,  Respected  Sir, — I 

Pres.  Board  of  Educ,       4.  Messrs.  Clark  &  Maynard, 
20  Nassau,  N.  Y.  5  Barclay  St.,  N.  Y. 

Dear  Sir, — I  write,  etc.  Gentlemen, 

I.  to  his  excellency  the  president  executive  mansion  washing- 
ton  d  c  mr  president.  2.  prof  george  n  boardman  theo  sem 
Chicago  ill  my  dear  teacher.  3.  mr  geo  r  curtis  71  livingston  st 
brooklyn  n  y  sir.  4.  david  h  cochran  lid  president  of  the  poly- 
technic institute  brooklyn  n  y  dear  sir.  5.  mrs  clara  e  com- 
stock  newport  r  i  dear  madam.  6.  my  dear  daughter  your  let- 
ters etc.  7.  messrs  tiffany  &  co  1000  broadway  new  york  city 
dear  sirs.     8.  rev  dr  pentecost  concord  n  h  my  dear  friend. 

III.  The  Body  of  the  LETTER.--Begin  the  body  of  the 
letter  at  the  end  of  the  salutation,  and  on  the  sa77ie  line, 
if  the  introduction  consists  of  four  lines, — you  may  do  so 
even  if  the  introduction  consists  of  but  three — in  which 
case  the  comma  after  the  salutation  should  be  followed 
by  a  dash ; — otherwise,  on  the  line  below. 

Style. — Be  perspicuous.  Paragraph  and  punctuate 
as  in  other  kinds  of  writing.  Write  legibly,  neatly,  and 
with  care.  Remember  that  the  letter  "  bespeaks  the  man." 


2i8  Productions-^ Written  Prose, 

Letters  of  friendship  should  be  colloquial,  natural,  and 
familiar.  Whatever  is  interesting  to  you  will  be  inter- 
esting to  your  friends.  '  Business  letters  should  be  brief, 
and  the  sentences  should  be  short,  concise,  and  to  the 
point.  In  formal  notes  the  third  person  is  generally 
used  instead  of  the  first  and  second  ;  there  is  no  head- 
ing, no  introduction,  no  signature,  only  the  name  of  the 
place  and  the  date  at  the  bottom,  on  the  left  side  of  the 
page,  thus  : — 

Mr.  and  Mrs  Brook's  re-  Mr.  Churchill  will  be 
quest  the  pleasure  of  Mr.  most  happy  to  accept  Mr. 
Churchill's  company  at  a  and  Mrs.  Brooks's  kind  in- 
social  gathering,  next  Tues-  vitation  to  a  social  gather- 
day  evening,  at  8  o'clock.  ing,  next  Tuesday  evening. 

32  W.  31st  Street,  Oct.  5.  160  Fifth  Ave.,  Oct.  5. 

IV.  The  Conclusion. — The  conclusion  consists  of  the 
complimentary  close  and  the  signature.  The  forms  of 
the  complimentary  close  are  many,  and  are  determined 
by  the  relation  of  the  writer  to  the  one  addressed.  In 
letters  of  friendship  you  may  use  Your  sincere  friend  ;  Yours 
affectionately ;  Your  loving  son  or  daughter,  etc.  In  busi- 
ness letters  you  may  use  Yours ;  Yours  truly ;  Truly 
yours  J  Yours  respectfully  j  Very  respectfully  yours,  etc.  In 
official  letters  use  /  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  obedient 
servant ;  Very  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant,  etc., 
etc.  The  signature  consists  of  your  christian  name  and 
your  surname.  In  addressing  a  stranger  write  your 
christian  name  in  full.  A  lady  addressing  a  stranger 
should  prefix  her  title — Miss  or  Mrs. — to  her  own  name. 

How  Written. — The  conclusion  should  begin  near  the 
middle  of  the  first  line  below  the  body  of  the  letter,  and 
should  slope  to  the  right  like  the  heading  and  the  ad- 
dress.    Begin  each  line  of  it  with  a  capital  letter,  and 


Letter-  Writing.  2 1 9 

punctuate  as  in  other  writing,  following  the  whole  with 
a  period.     The  signature^should  be  very  plain. 

V.  The  Superscription.— The  superscription  is  what  is 
written  on  the  outside  of  the  envelope.  It  is  the  same  as 
the  address,  consisting  of  the  name,  the  titles,  and  the  full 
directions  of  the  one  addressed. 

How  Written. — The  superscription  should  begin  near 
the  middle  of  the  envelope  and  near  the  left  ^6%^,  and 
should  occupy  three  or  four  lines.  The  beginnings  of 
these  lines  should  slope  to  the  right  as  in  the  heading 
and  the  address,  the  spaces  between  the  lines  should  be 
the  same,  and  the  last  line  should  end  near  the  lower 
right-hand  corner.  On  the  first  line  the  name  and  the 
titles  should  stand.  If  the  one  addressed  is  in  a  city,  the 
door-number  and  name  of  the  street  should  be  on  the 
second  line,  the  name  of  the  city  on  the  third,  and  the 
name  of  the  state  on  the  fourth.  If  he  is  in  the  country, 
the  name  of  the  post-office  should  be  on  the  second  line, 
the  name  of  the  county,  if  used,  on  the  third  (or  by  itself 
near  the  lower  left-hand  corner),  and  the  name  of  the 
state  on  the  fourth.  The  titles  following  the  name  should 
be  separated  from  it  and  from  each  other  by  the  comma, 
and  every  line  should  end  with  a  comma  except  the  last, 
which  should  be  followed  by  a  period.  The  lines  should 
be  straight,  and  the  superscription  legible. 


LESSON  Y8. 

LETTER-WRITING,  BIOGRAPHIES,  ESSAYS. 

Direction. — Put  together  the  headings  and  the  introductions  given 
in  the  preceding  Lesson,  let  a  few  blank  lines  represent  the  body  of 
the  letter,  conclude  with  a  fitting  complimentary  close,  and  your  sig- 
nature, and  superscribe,  using  the  forms  below  as  models: — 


220  Productions — Written  Prose. 


t^yi^^a^n^   ^a^/^^T^d-a^    h^-ci^^^^  ^^nc^  ©SSz^^-^^.         C^/^ 

a    ■        AA  P  I 


-e^iid^e'i. 


'J^XdC-U  tU^4^, 


Letter  Writing. 


221 


S     C/MZdd-'Cl^ 


^^-^ 


Direction. — Study  carefully,  for  their  spirit  and  style,  these  letters 
"  of  Macaulay,  Lamb,  and  John  Adams,  copy  them,  at  least  in  part,  and 
supply  headings,    introductions,    conclus'ons,   and  superscriptions   of 
your  own,  taking  these  above  as  your  models  in  form: — 

March  9,  1850. — I  have  seen  the  hippopotamus,  both  asleep 
and  awake ;  and  I  can  assure  you  that,  awake  or  asleep,  he  is 
the  ugliest  of  the  works  of  God.  But  you  must  hear  of  my 
triumphs.  Thackeray  swears  that  he  was  eye-witness  and  ear- 
witness  of  the  proudest  event  of  my  life.  Two  damsels  were 
just  about  to  pass  that  doorway  which  we,  on  Monday,  in  vain 
attempted  to  enter,  w^hen  I  was  pointed  out  to  them.  "Mr. 
Macaulay!"  cried  the  lovely  pair.  "Is  that  Mr.  Macaulay.? 
Never  mind  the  hippopotamus."  And,  having  paid  a  shilling 
tQ  ?e^  Pehen)ol:h,  the^  left  hirn  in  the  very  moment  at  which  he 


222  Productiofts —  Written  Prose, 


was  about  to  display  himself  to  them,  in  order  to  see — but  spare 
my  modesty.  I  can  wish  for  nothing  more  on  earth,  now  that 
Madame  Tussaud,  in  whose  Pantheon  I  once  hoped  for  a  place, 
is  dead. 

Jan.  22,  1829. — Rumor  tells  me  that  Miss is  married.  Who 

is }     Have  I  seen  him  at  Montacutes?    I  hear  he  is  a  great 

chemist.  I  am  sometimes  chemical  myself.  A  thought  strikes 
me  with  horror.  Pray  heaven  he  may  not  have  done  it  for  the 
sake  of  trying  chemical  experiments  upon  her — young  female 
subjects  are  so  scarce.  Ain't  [Ar'n't]  you  glad  about  Burke's 
case.^  We  may  set  off  the  Scotch  murders  against  the  Scotch 
novels.     Hare,  the  Great  Unchanged  ! 

Mr.  B.  is  richly  worth  your  knowing.  He  is  on  the  top  scale 
of  m.y  friendship  ladder,  on  which  an  angel  or  two  are  still 
climbing,  and  some,  alas  !  descending.  Did  you  see  a  sonnet  of 
mine  in  Blackwood's  last.'^  Curious  construction..  Elaborata 
facilitas I  And  now  I'll  tell.  'Twas  written  for  "The  Gem," 
but  the  editors  declined  it  on  the  plea  that  it  would  shock  all 
mothers ;  so  they  published  "  The  Widow"  instead.  I  am  born 
out  of  time.  I  have  no  conjecture  about  what  the  present 
world  calls  delicacy.  I  thought  **  Rosamund  Gray"  was  a 
pretty,  modest  thing.  Hessey  assures  me  that  the  world  would 
not  bear  it.  I  have  lived  to  grow  into  an  indecent  character. 
When  my  sonnet  was  rejected,  I  exclaimed,  **  Hang  the  age,  I 
will  write  for  antiquity  ! " 

Erratum  in  Sonnet. — Last  line  but  something,  for  tender  read 
tend.  The  Scotch  do  not  know  our  law  terms ;  but  I  find  some 
remains  of  honest,  plain,  old  writing  lurking  there  still.  They 
were  not  so  mealy-mouthed  as  to  refuse  my  verses.  May  be 
'tis  their  oatmeal. 

Blackwood  sent  me  20/.  for  the  drama.  Somebody  cheated 
me  out  of  it  next  day  ;  and  my  pair  of  breeches,  just  sent  home, 
cracking  at  first  putting  on,  I  exclaimed  in  my  wrath,  "All 
tailors  are  cheats,  and  all  men  are  tailors."  Then  I  was 
better. 

Philadelphia,  June  17,  1775. — I  can  now  inform  you  that  the 
Congress  have  made  choice  of  the  modest  and  virtuous,  the 
amiable;  generous,  an4  br^ve  George  Washington,  Esquire,  to 


Letter-  Writing,  223 


be  General  of  the  American  army,  and  that  he  is  to  repair,  as 
soon  as  possible,  to  the  camp  before  Boston.  This  appoint- 
ment will  have  a  great  effect  in  cementing  and  securing  the 
union  of  these  colonies.  The  continent  is  really  in  earnest  in 
defending  the  countr3^  They  have  voted  ten  companies  of 
riflemen  to  be  sent  from  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia 
to  join  the  army  before  Boston.  These  are  an  excellent  species 
of  light  infantry.  They  use  a  peculiar  kind  of  musket,  called  a 
rifle.  It  has  grooves  within  the  barrel,  and  carries  a  ball  with 
great  exactness  to  great  distances.  They  are  the  most  accurate  . 
marksmen  in  the  world. 

I  begin  to  hope  we  shall  not  sit  all  summer.  I  hope  the  people 
of  our  province  will  treat  the  General  with  all  that  confidence 
and  affection,  that  politeness  and  respect,  which  are  due  to  one 
of  the  most  important  characters  in  the  world.  The  liberties 
of  America  depend  upon  him,  in  a  great  degree.  I  h^ive  never 
been  able  to  obtain  from  our  province  any  regular  and  particu- 
lar intelligence  smce  I  left  it. 

I  have  found  this  Congress  like  the  last.  When  we  first  came 
together,  I  found  a  strong  jealousy  of  us  from  New  England 
and  Massachusetts  in  particular;  suspicions  entertained  of  de- 
signs of  independency;  an  American  republic;  Presbyterian  prin- 
ciples ;  and  twenty  other  things.  Our  sentiments  were  heard  in 
Congress  with  great  caution,  and  seemed  to  make  but  little  im- 
pression ;  but  the  longer  we  sat,  the  more  clearly  they  saw  the 
necessity  of  pushing  vigorous  measures.  It  has  been  so  now. 
Every  day  we  sit,  the  more  we  are  convinced  that  the  designs 
against  us  are  hostile. and  sanguinary,  and  that  nothing  but  for- 
titude, vigor,  and  perseverance  can  save  us. 

But  America  is  a  great  unwieldy  body.  Its  progress  must 
be  slow.  It  is  like  a  large  fleet  sailing  under  convoy.  The 
fleetest  sailers  must  wait  for  the  dullest  and  slowest.  Like  a 
coach  and  six,  the  swiftest  horses  must  be  slackened,  and  the 
slowest  quickened,  that  all  may  keep  an  even  pace. 

It  is  long  since  I  heard  from  you.  I  fear  you  have  been  kept 
in  continual  alarms.  My  duty  and  love  to  all.  My  dear  chil-. 
dren,  come  here  and  kiss  me.  We  have  appointed  a  Continental 
fastf     Millions  will  be  upon  their  knees  at  once  before  th^ir 


2  24  Productions — W^Htten  Prose, 

great    Creator,   imploring  his   forgiveness    and   blessing;    his 
smiles  on  American  councils  and  arms. 

My  duty  to  your  Uncle  Quincy ;  your  papa,  mamma,  and  mine ; 
my  brothers  and  sisters,  and  yours. 

To  the  Teacher. — Have  your  pupils  write  complete  letters  and 
notes  of  all  kinds.  You  can  name  the  persons  to  whom  these  are  to 
be  addressed.  Attend  minutely  to  all  the  points.  Letters  of  introduc- 
tion should  have  the  word  Introducing  (followed  by  the  name  of  the 
one  introduced)  at  the  lower  left-hand  corner  of  the  envelope.  This 
letter  should  not  be  sealed.  The  receiver  may  seal  it  before  handing 
it  to  the  one  addressed. 

Continue  this  work  of  letter-writing  until  the  pupils  have  mastered 
all  the  details,  and  are  able  easily  and  quickly  to  write  any  ordinary 
letter. 

Biographies. — A  biography  is  a  written  work  descrip- 
tive of  one's  life  and  character.  It  is  a  history,  setting 
before  us  what  manner  of  man  the  subject  of  it  was  and 
what  he  did.  If  a  stateman,  a  distinguished  general,  or 
one  in  any  way  eminent  in  public  life,  a  biography  of 
him  is  largely  a  history  of  his  times.  A  biography  pic- 
tures the  early  and  the  later  life  of  its  subject,  tells  us 
what  were  his  talents,  his  natural  bent  and  surround- 
ings, what  his  environment  did  in  shaping  his  character 
and  determining  his  life,  what  he  became  in  consequence 
or  in  spite  of  it,  what  he  did,  and  what  was  his  influence 
upon  his  times.  Biography  deals  much  with  character. 
In  this  work  the  biographer  is  helped  by  the  letters  of 
his  subject.  In  these  the  man  speaks  more  fully  and 
frankly  than  in  his  public  efforts.  His  hopes  and  fears, 
his  struggles,  defeats,  and  triumphs  have  tongue  in  his 
letters,  and  in  these  he  opens  himself  to  us.  And  so, 
especially  in  recent  times,  letters  form  a  large  part  of 
biographies — often  the  most  valuable  part.  Biographies 
abound  in  personal  incidents  ancj  aiiecdotes  which  turn 


Biographies  and  Essays.  225 

the  flash  of  an  electric  light  upon  one's  character,  which 
give  us  the  key  to  what  might  remain  locked  without 
them.  The  works  of  literature  cannot  be  rightly  read 
till  we  know  under  what  circumstances  they  were  writ- 
ten, what  was  the  author's  natural  fitness  for  his  task, 
and  what  were  his  limitations.  What  would  not  the  ad- 
mirers of  Shakespeare's  plays  give  to  know  more  of  his 
early  life  and  training  at  Stratford,  and  his  later  life 
in  London  ! 

An  autobiography  is  a  biography  written  by  the  sub- 
ject of  it. 

A  memoir  is  a  brief  sketch  of  one's  life  and  character. 

It  has  been,  and  is  still,  a  question  whether  the  lives 
of  men  great  in  intellect  and  in  executive  ability,  but  not 
eminent  in  moral  virtues,  should  be  fully  portrayed.  It 
is  difficult  to  see  what  good  can  come  from  an  exhibi- 
tion of  one's  vices,  unless  out  of  these  some  of  his  note- 
worthy achievements  sprang.  While  the  biographer 
should  not,  in  what  he  says  of  him,  misrepresent  the 
man,  he  is  not  bound  fully  to  present  him.  The  man's 
private  life  does  not  belong  to  the  public,  it  is  his  own. 
£>e  rnortuis  nil  nisi  bomim — of  the  dead  nothing  should  be 
spoken  save  what  is  good — may  carry  suppression  to  the 
point  of  distortion  ;  but  certainly  the  biographer  wrongs 
no  one  in  drawing  a  veil  before  so  much  of  a  man's  evil 
nature  as  had  little  or  no  influence  in  shaping  his  public 
career. 

Great  interest  will  always  be  felt  in  this  department 
of  literature.  '^The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man," 
and  certainly  no  study  has  greater  fascination  for  us. 
The  lives  of  others  teach  us  invaluable  lessons,  and  are 
an  incentive  to  honest  and  even  heroic  endeavor.  Biog- 
raphies are  of  essential  service  to  the  historian,  and  con- 
stitute a  most  important  part  of  literature. 


2  26  Productzofts — Written  Prose. 

Essays. — An  essay  is  a  short  composition  upon  any 
subject.  The  subject  may  be  of  any  kind  whatever,  one 
fit  for  treatment,  and  with  great  fulness,  in  any  of  the 
species  of  discourse  described  above,  or  one  without 
sufficient  dignity  for  such  treatment.  No  other  species 
of  writing  ranges  over  so  wide  and  varied  a  field  of  top- 
ics— nothing  less  than  that  of  all  others  combined — and 
none  other  allows  such  freedom  and  diversity  in  the 
handling. 

In  style  of  thought  the  essay  may  be  dreamy  and  semi- 
poetical,  and  charm  by  its  beauty,  it  may  be  simply  in- 
structive or  critical,  it  may  blaze  with  its  brilliancy, 
sting  with  its  satire,  convulse  with  its  humor,  convince 
with  its  logic,  inflame  with  its  appeal  and  move  to  in- 
stant duty.  The  author  may  wander  off  in  leisurely  ex- 
cursions to  the  right  and  the  left,  and  load  his  pages 
with  gleanings  by  the  way  ;  or,  like  the  orator,  he  may 
keep  his  eye  on  the  point  he  would  reach,  and  move, 
with  the  directness  of  an  arrow's  flight,  toward  it. 

The  style  of  expression  should  fit  the  thought,  and  Oc- 
tober woods  are  not  more  varied  in  color  than  this  de- 
partment of  literature  in  utterance. 

Essays,  as  the  name  indicates,  are  not  ambitious 
works.  Their  subjects  are  specific,  and  the  view  the  au- 
thor allows  himself  to  take  is  narrow  rather  than  com- 
prehensive. They  are  monographs,  aiming  each  to  pre- 
sent a  single  thing  in  a  clear  light.  Most  modern  writers 
spend  their  probation  in  essay-writing,  and  no  better 
training  for  larger  works  can  be  devised.  Essays  are 
usually  written  for  the  monthlies  or  the  quarterlies, 
and  hence  are  prepared  for  readers  of  scholarly  tastes 
and  some  culture.  If  they  have  met  with  favor,  they 
are  gathered  together  and  issued  in  book  form,  and  so 
pass  in  permanent  shape  into  our  libraries. 


Scheme  for  the  Review  of  Prose.  227 


A  SCHEME  FOR  REVIEW. 


O    ^ 


Oral. 


The  three  Departments  of  Mind  determining  the  three  Di- 
visions of  Discourse. 


I.  Conversation — Three    Things   it  Ac- 
complishes. 
II.  Debate — Burden   of   Proof  and    Pre- 
sumption. 

III.  Oration — Subject,  Framework,  Treat- 

ment, Parts. 

IV.  Speeches — Style    and    Value.      Cam- 

paign  and   After-Dinner  Speeches, 
and  Harangues. 
V.  Lectures  and  Addresses. 
VI.  Pleas. 
VII.  Sermons. 
I.  Treatises. 
II.  Histories — Topics,  Spirit,  Style. 

III.  Books  of  Travel. 

IV.  Fiction — Purpose,  Place.     Allegories, 

Fables,  and  Parables. 

V.  Letters — Purpose  and  the  five  Parts — 

Heading,  Introduction,  Body  of  the 
Letter,  Conclusion,  and  Superscrip- 
tion. 
VI.  Biographies.      Autobiographies     and 

Memoirs. 
VII.  Essays — Style  of  thought  and  of  Ex- 
pression. 


Written. 


2  28  Prodiiciions — Poetry, 


LESSON    Y9. 

POETRY. 

Two  of  the  three  great  divisions  of  discourse  we  have 
spoken  of — oral  prose,  which  addresses  itself  to  the  will, 
and  leads  to  action  ;  and  written  prose,  which  is  mainly 
intended  to  instruct  the  intellect.  We  come  now  to  the 
second  division  of  written,  and  to  the  last  of  the  three 
divisions  of  all,  discourse — 

Poetry. — Poetry  is  that  division  of  discourse  which  is 
rhythmical  and  metrical,  and  is  addressed  to  the  feel- 
ings. Poetry  differs  from  prose  in  three  particulars  (i) 
in  its  mission,  (2)  in  its  style,  and  (3)  in  its  form. 

I.  Its  Mission. — The  mission  of  poetry  is  to  bring  sus- 
tenance to  that  part  of  our  nature  which  lies  in  between 
the  intellect  and  the  will — that  part  which  enjoys  and 
which  suffers,  which  is  open  to  every  disturbing  influence 
and  responds  to  every  touch  of  impression — the  feelings. 
Poetry,  the  most  artistic  department  of  literature,  is 
near  of  kin,  in  its  effects,  to  music  and  to  painting.  The 
poet  is  an  artist,  sensitive  to  impressions  to  which  ordi- 
nary nerves  do  not  tingle.  His  eye  detects  a  beauty, 
and  a  meaning  in  things — a  beauty  and  a  meaning  which 
escape  ordinary  vision.  His  effort  is  to  put  this  meaning 
into  a  picture,  in  which  words  are  his  colors,  bringing 
all  parts  of  it  into  symmetry,  knowing  that  the  many, 
blind  to  what  he  sees,  will  see  and  appreciate  what  he 
does.  The  most  of  poetry  is  too  ethereal  in  spirit  to  in- 
habit a  body  so  gross  as  that  of  prose.  Prose  is  mascu- 
line and  matter-of-fact,  the  "  common  drudge  'tween 
man  and  man."     You  can  harness  it  to  the  light  vehicles 


Mission  of  Poetry,  229 

of  conversation,  you  can  hitch  it  to  the  lumbering  trains 
of  argument.  Homely,  serviceable,  and  built  to  wear, 
prose  is  a  draught-horse,  and  will  drag  your  heavy  drays 
of  thought  from  premise  to  conclusion.  But  it  lacks  the 
grace  of  form  and  of  movement  which  you  demand  for 
your  "turnouts"  on  the  boulevard  and  in  the  park. 
Poetry  is  feminine.  It  takes  to  itself  a  delicacy  of  form, 
a  warmth  of  coloring,  and  a  richness  of  expression  alien 
to  prose.  Poetry  deals  with  things  as  October  light 
with  the  objects  upon  which  it  falls,  painting  everything 
it  touches  in  its  most  bewitching  colors.  Nothing  is  so 
insignificant  that  it  has  not  a  poetic  side  to  it,  and  may 
not  furnish  the  poet  a  subject  for  his  verse,  and  nothing  is 
too  high  for  the  poet's  reach.  His  eye  catches  glimpses 
and  suggestions  of  outward  and  of  inward  beauty  ;  and, 
in  the  play  of  imagination,  he  works  them  up  now  into 
studies  and  now  into  finished  pictures,  which  cling  to 
the  walls  of  our  memories,  and  stream  their  gracious  in- 
fluences down  upon  our  feelings  in  our  dark  hours  and 
in  all  our  hours,  a  never  failing  source  of  consolation 
and  delight. 

Of  all  literature,  poetry  has  in  it  the  least  of  objective 
purpose,  the  most  of  spontaneity.  No  great  moral  pur- 
pose, no  purpose  of  mere  instruction  is  consciously 
cherished  by  the  poet  as  he  writes.  Some  phase  of  out- 
ward beauty,  some  deed  disclosing  inward  grace,  or 
some  glimpse  of  spiritual  loveliness  has  been  vouchsafed 
him,  and  he  hastens  to  give  form  to  his  conception  be- 
fore it  vanishes  ;  he  is  concerned  only  that  he  may  fitly 
embody  in  verse  the  sweet  vision  that  has  dawned  upon 
him.  In  just  the  ratio  that  the  poet  aims  to  give  in- 
struction or  to  turn  any  wheel  of  reform,  great  or  small, 
does  he  abdicate  his  own  function  and  seek  to  usurp 
that  of  the  prose-writer.     Not  that  poetry  may  not  teach, 


Productions — Poetry. 


may  not  even  preach;  it  may  and  does,  but  it  does  these 
things,  when  it  does  them,  incidentally.  It  cannot  sub- 
ordinate its  own  proper  vocation  of  ministering  to  the 
feelings  to  any  other  purpose  without  proving  false  to 
its  own  mission,  false  to  the  mission  of  all  fine  art. 

But  no  thoughtful  person  sets  a  light  value  upon  this 
incidental  work  which  all  art,  which  poetry,  its  chief 
branch,  performs  upon  our  intellect  and  upon  our  moral 
nature.  We  are  not  to  disparage  poetry  as  an  enlight- 
ening and  as  a  reforming  agency  because  it  works  inten- 
tionally neither  upon  the  intellect  nor  upon  the  will.  It 
works  effectively  upon  both,  even  if  incidentally — all  the 
more  effectively,  as  it  would  be  easy  to  show,  because 
incidentally.  Besides,  the  intellect  takes  more  than 
miller's  toll  of  the  thought  poetry  contains,  it  appropri- 
ates the  whole  ;  and  the  feelings,  to  which  poetry  inten- 
tionally ministers,  react  upon  our  intellectual  faculties, 
and  rouse  them  from  any  lethargy  into  which  they  may 
have  fallen.  And  the  feelings  lie  close,  on  the  other 
side,  to  the  will,  which  never  acts  save  as  they  furnish 
the  occasion  and  the  motive. 

II.  Its  Style. — i.  Words. — Poetry  does  not  confine 
Itself  to  the  language  of  conversation  or  of  common  life. 
It  selects  words  for  their  beauty  of  sound  and  associa- 
tion, for  their  picturesqueness,  for  their  elevation — rare 
words  often,  words  that  are  even  obsolete  in  prose. 

2.  Arrangement. — It  uses  the  transposed  order  in  a  de- 
gree forbidden  in  conversation,  unpardonable  even  in 
impassioned  oratory.  It  condenses  clauses  into  single 
epithets.  *'  Imperfect  periods  are  frequent ;  elisions  are 
perpetual  ;  and  many  of  the  minor  words,  which  would 
be  deemed  essential  in  prose,  are  dispensed  with.'* 

3.  Imagery. — Spencer  says,  ''Metaphors,  similes,  hy- 
perboles,   and    personifications    are    the    poet's   colors. 


Poetry — Its  Form — Rhythm, 


which  he  has  liberty  to  employ  almost  without  limit. 
We  characterize  as  '  poetical '  the  prose  which  uses  these 
appliances  of  language  with  any  frequency  ;  and  con- 
demn it  as  '  over-florid  '  or  '  affected  '  long  before  they 
occur  with  the  profusion  allowed  in  verse." 

Direction. — Study  this  extract  from  Lowell's  "Vision  of  Sir  Laun- 
fal,"  and  note  how  these  three  points  are  illustrated  : — 

Within  the  hall  are  song  and  laughter, 

The  cheeks  of  Christmas  glow  red  and  jolly, 
And  sprouting  is  every  corbel  and  rafter 

With  the  lightsome  green  of  ivy  and  holly; 
Through  the  deep  gulf  of  the  chimney  wide 

Wallow^s  the  Yule-log's  roaring  tide  ; 
The  broad  flame-pennons  droop  and  flap 

And  belly  and  tug  as  a  flag  in  the  wind  ; 
Like  a  locust  shrills  the  imprisoned  sap, 

Hunted  to  death  in  its  galleries  blind; 
And  swift  little  troops  of  silent  sparks, 

Now  pausing,  now  scattering  away  as  in  fear, 
Go  threading  the  soot-forest's  tangled  darks 

Like  herds  of  startled  deen 

in.  Its  Form. — In  treating  of  the  form  of  poetry,  we 
shall  group  all  we  have  to  say,  under  the  three  heads  of 
rhythm,  metre,  and  rhyme. 

I.  Rhythm. — Rhythm  is  that  arrangement  of  words 
which  allows  the  alternate  stress  and  remission  of  the 
voice  in  reading.  For  each  sequence  of  stress  and  re- 
mission, of  strong  and  weak  impulse,  of  the  voice,  two 
or  three  syllables  are  regularly  required. 

The  rhythm-accent  is  the  stroke,  stress,  or  strong  im- 
pulse of  the  voice  which  falls  upon  certain  syllables.  In 
English  and  in  other  modern  poetry,  the  rhythm-accent 
must  agree  with  the  word-accent  —  must  fall  upon  the 


232  Productiojis — Poetry, 

syllable  of  the  word  which  is  accented  in  prose.  For 
this  reason  ours  is  called  an  accentual  rhythm.  In  Latin 
and  Greek  the  rhythm-accent  falls  upon  a  long  syllable, 
a  syllable  whose  vowel  is  long  by  nature  or  by  position, 
a  syllable  requiring  a  long  time  for  its  enunciation. 
Hence  ancient  rhythm  is  said  to  be  based  upon  quantity. 
It  is  thought  that  these  two  rhythmical  systems,  theirs 
and  ours,  are  so  unlike  as  to  be  in  antagonism.  But  we 
must  remember  that,  in  the  ordinary  pronunciation  of  an 
English  word,  we  dwell  longer  upon  the  accented  syllable 
than  upon  one  not  accented  ;  that  the  syllable  becomes 
Jong  by  this  detention  of  the  voice  upon  it,  and  hence 
presents  itself  as  long  for  the  rhythm-accent.  Rhythm, 
then,  in  English,  even  if  we  call  it  accentual,  rests  ulti- 
mately, as  in  Latin  and  Greek,  upon  time,  or  quantity, 
the  syllable  receiving  the  rhythm-accent  taking  long 
time  for  its  enunciation,  the  unaccented  syllable  or  sylla- 
bles short  time.  And  what  if  it  should  turn  out,  as  our 
greatest  American  philologist,  Prof.  Hadley,  virtually 
claims,  that,  in  their  ordinary  speech,  the  Greeks  did  not 
pronounce  the  accented  syllable  with  any  or,  if  any,  with 
any  striking  increase  of  force  !  It  is  inconceivable  that, 
in  reciting  his  poetry,  the  Greek  or  Roman  should  give 
both  rhythmic-stress  and  word-stress  when  these  did  not 
fall  upon  the  same  syllable  ;  and  it  is  also  inconceivable 
that  he  should  neglect  the  word-stress,  in  the  recitation, 
if,  in  ordinary  speech,  it  was  as  marked  in  his  language 
as  in  ours.  In  the  one  case  there  would  be  no  propor- 
tion, no  music,  in  the  verse  thus  read  ;  in  the  other,  the 
word,  robbed  of  its  customary  strong  accent,  would  not 
be  recognized  by  the  hearer.  We  conclude,  then,  that 
as  with  us,  the  rhythm-accent,  falling  upon  the  syllable 
having  the  word-accent,  is  in  harmony  with  it,  so  in  the 
Greek,    the   word-accent    not   being    distinguished    by 


Kinds  of  Feet.  233 


marked  stress  of  voice,  the  rhythm-accent  could  not  no- 
ticeably clash  with  it,  and  that,  therefore,  between  the 
ancient  rhythmical  system  and  our  own,  the  alleged  an- 
tagonism, or  radical  difference,. is  imaginary. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  this  alternation  of  long  syllables 
with  short  or  of  short  with  long  and  the  accompanying 
variety  of  force  and  volume  of  voice  in  the  reading  of 
poetry  give  it,  in  part,  its  musical  quality,  and  make  it 
so  delightful  to  the  ear. 

A  foot  is  the  combination  of  two  or  three  syllables 
which  requires  this  compound  movement  of  the  voice  in 
the  reading.  Any  syllable  of  the  foot  may  receive  the 
rhythm-accent.  A  trochee,  jl  v^,  is  a  dissyllabic  foot  ac- 
cented on  the  first  syllable  ;  an  iambus,  ^^  jl,  is  a  dissyl- 
labic foot  accented  on  the  second  syllable;  a  dactyl,  j.^^, 
is  a  trisyllabic  foot  accented  on  the  first  syllable ;  an 
ampMbrach,  _  _l  v^,  is  a  trisyllabic  foot  accented  on  the 
second  syllable  ;  and  an  anapaest,  ^  ^  jl,  is  a  trisyllabic 
foot  accented  on  the  third  syllable.  Verse  is  poetry,  and 
a  verse  is  a  single  line  of  poetry. 

Verses  with  trochaic  feet: — 

Other  I  arms  may  |  press  thee 

II  I 

Dearer  |  friends  ca  |  ress  thee. 

Verses  with  iambic  feet: — 

His  books  I  were  ri  1  vers,  woods  |  and  skies. 

The  mead  [  ow  and  |  the  moor. 

Verses  with  dactyllic  feet: — 

Flashed  all  their  |  sabres  bare, 

Flashed  as  they  |  turned  in  air. 

Sabring  the  |  gunners  there, 


234  Prodiictio7is — Poetry, 

Verses  with  amphibrachic  feet: — 

The  waters  |  are  flashing. 
The  white  hail  |  is  dashing, 
The  hghtnings  |  are  glancing, 
The  hoar-spray  |  is  dancing. 

Verses  with  anapaestic  feet: — 

The  volca  |  noes  are  dim  |  and  the  stars  |  reel  and  swim 
When  the  whirl  |  winds  my  ban  |  ner  unfurl. 

A  stanza  is  a  group  of  two,  three,  four,  or  more  verses 
separated  from  other  verses  on  the  page.  A  poem  is  a 
collection  of  verses,  grouped  into  stanzas  or  not,  written 
on  some  one  topic.  Scansion  is  the  reading  of  poetry  so 
as  to  mark  the  rhythm. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  all  the  feet  of  a  poem,  a 
stanza,  or  even  of  a  single  verse,  are  necessarily  of  the 
same  kind.  It  would  not  be  easy  for  the  poet  to  com- 
pose a  succession  of  such  verses  ;  it  would  be  tiresome 
to  the  ear  to  listen  to  lines  so  monotonous  in  their  struc- 
ture. A  succession  of  verses  so  constructed,  one  might 
almost  say  a  single  verse  so  constructed,  is  rare.  The 
kind  of  foot  beginning  the  poem  should  continue  till  the 
tongue  and  ear  have  caught  the  prevailing  rhythm,  then 
here  and  there  other  feet  maybe  substituted  for  it.  The 
substitutions  should  not  be  so  frequent  as  to  lead  one  to 
doubt  what  the  prevailing  rhythm  was  meant  to  be. 

Substituted  Feet. — If  a  foot  accented  on  the  last  syl- 
lable, an  iambus  or  an  anapaest,  cannot,  without  a  pause 
after  it,  be  followed  by  a  foot  accented  on  the  first  syl- 
lable, a  trochee  or  a  dactyl,  because  this  would  bring  two 


Suhstituted  Feet.  235 

accented  syllables  together  :  and,  if,  as  Abbott  and  See- 
ley  assert,  three  clearly  pronounced  unaccented  syllables 
cannot  stand  together,  and  so  an  anapaest  cannot  follow 
a  trochee  ;  an  iambus  or  an  amphibrach  or  an  anapaest 
cannot  follow  a  dactyl  ;  and  an  anapaest  cannot  follow 
an  amphibrach  ;  then  the  substitutions  will  be  some- 
what limited.  In  a  trochaic  verse,  an  iambus  may  be 
substituted  for  the  last  trochee,  and  a  dactyl  or  an  am- 
phibrach for  any  trochee,  represented  thus  :  _l  v^,  ^  _l  ; 
JL  w,  JL  >^  ^  or  ^  __,  ^  ^  ;_£._,_  ^  _  or  _  _L  _,_£_  _,  In 
an  iambic  verse,  an  amphibrach  or  an  anapaest  may  be  sub- 
stituted for  any  iambus,  represented  thus  :  .^  _l,  ^  _l  w  or 
^jLs_,,w^;  s^-i-,«^w-£-or^^_i.,v^^.  In  a  dactyllic  verse, 
a  trochee  may  be  substituted  for  any  dactyl,  represented 
thus:  jL^w,-Z.  wOr_Lw,j_^^.  In  an  amphibrachic  verse, 
a  trochee  or  an  iambus  may  be  substituted  for  any  am- 
phibrach, or  a  dactyl  for  the  last^  represented  thus  :  ^±.^y 
_L  ^  or  _£.  _,  ^  ^  ^  ;  _  JL  _,  ^  JL  or  _  ^,  _  ^  _  ;  _  _^  _,  _L  ^  _. 
In  an  anapaestic  verse,  an  iambus  may  be  substituted  for 
any  anapaest,  or  an  amphibrach  for  the  last^  represented 
thus:  ^  .^  j_^^  i_ov  ^  j_^^  ^  j_\  ^  ^  ±_^  ^  j_  ^.  These  are 
the  possible  substitutions  of  dissyllabic  feet  for  trisyl- 
labic or  of  trisyllabic  feet  for  dissyllabic,  if  we  do  not 
allow  the  claim  that  a  foot  accented  on  the  last  syllable 
may  be  followed  by  a  foot  accented  on  the  first  syllable 
provided  the  voice  is  given  time  to  recover  itself  between 
the  feet ;  and  if  we  do  allow  the  claim  made  by  Abbott 
and  Seeley. 

But  we  have  purposely  passed  by  the  monosyllabic  foot. 
It  is  sometimes  found  at  the  beginning  of  a  verse,  some- 
times in  the  middle,  very  frequently  at  the  end,  and  now 
and  then  a  whole  verse  is  made  up  of  such  feet.  These 
words  in  Italics  are  illust:rations  of  its  use  : — 


236  Productions — Poetry, 

1.  Toll,  toll  t'oll, 

II  I 

Thou  bell  |  by  bil  |  lows  swung. 

2.  Higher,  |  higher  |  will  we  |  climb 

III 
Up  the  I  mount  of  |  glory. 

3.  Strike  I  for  your  al  |  tars  and  |  your  fires. 

/  II 

4.  Bury  the  |  Great  Duke, 

Direction. — Scan  these  verses  (which  illustrate  all  the  substitutions 
described  above),  name  the  prevalent  foot  and  the  feet  which  are  sub- 
stituted:— 

1.  Half  a  league,  half  a  league, 
Half  a  league  onward. 

2.  Erin,  my  country,  though  sad  and  forsaken. 

3.  And  again  to  the  child  I  whispered. 

4.  Lesbia  hath  a  beaming  eye, 
Lesbia  hath  a  robe  of  gold. 

5.  Then  far  below  in  the  peaceful  sea. 

6.  Then  with  eyes  that  saw  not  I  kissed  her. 

7.  Never,  never,  believe  me, 
Never,  never,  alone. 

8.  He  looks  to  the  beacon  that  looms  from  the  reef. 

9.  But  rapture  and  beauty  they  cannot  recall. 
10.  And  worth  a  thousand !    Indeed  it  is. 


LESSON  80. 

SCANSION. 

As  I  look  from  the  isle,  o'er  its  billows  of  green 
To  the  billows  of  foam-crested  blue, 
Yon  bark,  that  afar  in  the  distance  is  seen, 
H^lf  dreaming,  my  eyes  will  pursue ; 


'     General  Remarks  upon  Scansion,         237 

Now  dark  in  the  shadow,  she  scatters  the  spray, 
As  the  chaff  in  the  stroke  of  the  flail ; 
Now  white  as  the  sea-gull,  she  flies  on  her  way. 
The  sun  gleaming  bright  on  her  sail. 

General  Remarks. — The  prevailing  foot  above  is  the 
anapaest.  Only  the  first  foot  in  each  of  the  verses  3,  4, 
5,  7,  and  8  varies  from  this,  is  an  iambus.  Each  iambus 
is  made,  in  the  scansion,  to  have  the  same  time  as  an 
anapaest.  In  pronouncing  Yon^  Half^  Now^  etc.,  we 
dwell  as  long  upon  each  as  upon  the  two  unaccented 
feet  of  any  anapaest.  Let  us  say  generally  that,  in  scan- 
sion, any  substituted  foot  has  the  same  time  as  the  foot 
for  which  it  is  substituted.  In  this  way  is  preserved, 
what  should  never  be  violated,  the  equal  times  of  the 
feet  in  a  line,  or  verse.  Upon  this  depend  the  propor- 
tion, the  music,  the  beauty  of  rhythm,  depends  the 
rhythm  itself.  This  applies  to  the  monosyllabic  foot  as 
well  as  to  the  others — //  must  have  the  time  of  the  foot 
whose  place  it  takes. 

Notice  that,  though  the  rhythm-accent  must  fall  upon 
the  syllable  having  the  word-accent,  it  need  not  fall  upon 
every  such  syllable.  Gleam  in  gleaming^  verse  8,  has  a 
word-accent,  but  in  the  scansion  has  no  rhythm-accent. 

You  will  see  hereafter  that  upon  a  long  word  more 
than  a  single  rhythm-accent  may  fall. 

Notice,  too,  that  the  unimportant  words,  those  which, 
in  expressing  the  sense,  we  should  touch  lightly  in  read- 
ing, are  the  ones  upon  which  the  rhythm-accent  seldom 
falls.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  Rhythm  should  not  dis- 
guise the  thought  by  conflicting  with  the  lights  and 
shades  of  emphasis  through  which  the  reader  reveals  to 
the  hearer  the  relative  importance  of  the  ideas.  Yet 
unemphatic  words  do  sometimes  take  the  rhythm-accent 
as  in  these  lines  : — 


238  Productions — Poetry. 

1.  Vice  is  a  monster  ^so  frightful  mien 
As  to  be  hated  needs  but  to  be  seen. 

2.  Worth  makes  the  man  and  want  of  it  the  fellow. 

Of  the  amphibracli  it  is  proper  to  say  that  it  is  disal- 
lowed by  many  critics,  and  some  who  allow  it  admit 
that,  perhaps,  it  is  not  required  in  English  poetry.  By 
making  the  first  foot  of  an  amphibrachic  line  an  iambus, 
the  remaining  feet  are  converted  into  anapaests,  with  an 
extra  unaccented  syllable  at  the  close.  But  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  first  and  the  last  syllable  of  a  trisyllabic 
foot  should  monopolize  the  accent.  It  is  certain  that 
the  use  of  the  amphibrach  in  scansion  prevents  many  ir- 
regularities, and  often  makes  the  line  more  musical. 
The  rhythmical  fiow  of  example  9,  Lesson  79,  seems 
more  delightful  if  we  regard  the  verse  as  amphibrachic, 
with  an  iambus  at  the  close,  than  it  would  be  if  we 
scanned  it  as  anapaestic  with  an  iambus  at  the  begin- 
ning. Perhaps  the  same  might  be  claimed  of  the  five 
verses  we  have  noticed  in  the  extract  at  the  head  of  this 
Lesson. 

The  iambus  seems  to  be  the  commonest  foot  in  Eng- 
lish poetry. 

There  being  two  hastily  uttered  syllables  in  each 
trisyllabic  foot,  it  will  be  seen  that  this  foot  gives  a  light 
tripping  movement  to  the  verse,  and  affords  great  relief 
to  the  ear  when  occasionally  substituted  for  the  dissyl- 
labic foot. 

The  caesura,  a  pause,  or  rest,  for  the  voice,  so  much 
used  in  ancient  poetry  with  verses  of  six  feet  each,  oc- 
curring at  the  end  of  a  word  and  usually  between  the 
syllables  of  the  third  foot,  is  found  in  English  poetry 
also,  especially  where  the  verse  is  very  long.  It  serves 
to  break  the  lines  into  parts  as  in  these  : — 


Ccesura  and  Elisio7t,  ^39 


You  must  wake  and  call  me  early,  |  call  me  early,  mother  dear; 
To-morrow'll  be  the  happiest  time  |  of  all  the  glad  New- Year ; 
Of  all  the  glad  New-Year,  mother,  |  the  maddest,  merriest  day  ; 
For  I'm  to  be  Queen  o'  the  May,  mother,  [  I'm  to  be  Queen  o' 
the  May. 

It  may  be  found  in  verse  of  fewer  feet,  but  it  would 
be  difficult  to  show  that  we  often  observe  it  in  verses  of 
ordinary  length.  Abbott  and  Seeley  show  that  in  the 
middle  of  the  third  foot  in  each  of  these  lines: — 

Eternal  suni-///;/^  ^the  spotless  mind. 

Each  prayer  accept^^/  and  each  wish  resigned, 

there  occurs  a  caesura — in  each  verse  the  voice  pausing 
for  a  rest  at  the  end  of  a  word  which  breaks  the  foot 
into  two  equal  parts.  Lowell  says  that  the  caesura  has 
no  place  in  accentual  rhythm. 

Elision  is  the  running  together  of  two  syllables  into 
one  by  the  dropping  of  one  or  more  letters.  This  may 
sometimes  be  necessary  in  English  verse,  but  some  of 
our  best  critics  claim  that  in  all  cases  it  can  be  avoided 
by  supposing  that,  where  it  seems  to  be  needed,  the  poet 
substituted  a  trisyllabic  foot  for  a  dissyllabic.  In  the 
verse, 

The  illumined  pages  of  his  Doom's-Day  book, 

we  must  run  The  and  //  of  the  first  foot  together,  if  we 
would  preserve  the  iambic  foot  throughout.  But,  if  we 
call  the  first  foot  an  anapaest,  there  is  no  need  of  elision. 

Direction. — Scan  these  extracts,  name  the  prevalent  foot  in  each, 
and  the  feet  that  are  substituted  : — 

I.  Queen  and  huntress,  chaste  and  fair, 
Now  the  sun  is  laid  to  sleep. 
Seated  in  thy  silver  chair 
State  in  wonted  manner  keep, 


2  AO  Productions — Poetry, 

Hesperus  entreats  thy  light, 
Goddess,  excellently  bright. 

Earth,  let  not  thy  envious  shade 
Dare  itself  to  interpose. 
Cynthia's  shining  orb  was  made 
Heaven  to  clear,  when  day  did  close. 
Bless  us,  then,  with  wished  sight, 
Goddess,  excellently  bright. 

Lay  thy  bow  of  pearl  apart. 

And  thy  crystal-gleaming  quiver  : 

Give  unto  the  flying  hart 

Space  to  breathe,  how  short  soever, — 

Thou  that  mak'st  a  day  of  night, 

Goddess,  excellently  bright. 

Ben  Jonson 

2.  Is  this  a  time  to  be  cloudy  and  sad. 

When  our  Mother  Nature  laughs  around. 

When  even  the  deep  blue  heavens  look  glad. 

And  gladness  breathes  from  the  blossoming  ground  } 

There  are  notes  of  joy  from  the  hang-bird  and  wren. 
And  the  gossip  of  swallows  through  all  the  sky; 
The  ground-squirrel  gayly  chirps  by  his  den. 
And  the  wilding  bee  hums  merrily  by. 

The  clouds  are  at  play  in  the  azure  space. 

And  their  shadows  at  play  on  the  bright  green  vale ; 

And  here  they  stretch  to  the  frolic  chase. 

And  there  they  roll  on  the  easy  gale. 

There's  a  dance  of  leaves  in  that  aspen  bower. 
There's  a  titter  of  winds  in  that  beechen  tree. 
There's  a  smile  on  the  fruit,  and  a  smile  on  the  flower, 
And  a  laugh  from  the  brook  that  runs  to  the  sea. 


Extracts  for  Scanning,  243 


6.  Say,  shall  we  yield  Him,  in  costly  devotion, 
Odors  of  Edom  and  offerings  divine  ? 
Gems  of  the  mountains  and  pearls  of  the  ocean  ? 
Myrrh  from  the  forest  or  gold  from  the  mine  ? 

Vainly  we  offer  such  ample  oblation; 
Vainly  with  gifts  would  his  favor  secure : 
Richer  by  far  is  the  heart's  adoration  > 
Dearer  to  God  are  the  prayers  of  the  poor. 

Brightest  and  best  of  the  sons  of  the  morning. 
Dawn  on  our  darkness,  and  lend  us  thine  aid. 
Star  of  the  East,  the  horizon  adorning, 
Guide  where  our  infant  Redeemer  is  laid. 

Bishop  Heber. 

7.  Drunk  and  senseless  in  his  place, 
Prone  and  sprawling  on  his  face, 
More  like  brute  than  any  man, 
Alive  or  dead, 
By  his  great  pump  out  of  gear, 
Lay  the  peon  engineer, 
Waking  only  just  to  hear 

Overhead 
Angry  tones  that  called  his  name. 
Oaths  and  cries  of  bitter  blame, — 
Woke  to  hear  all  this,  and  waking,  turned  and  fled. 

"  To  the  man  who'll  bring  to  me," 

Cried  Intendant  Harry  Lee, — 
Harry  Lee,  the  English  foreman  of  the  mine, — 
"Bring  the  sot,  alive  or  dead, 
I  will  giv^e  to  him,"  he  said, 
"  Fifteen  hundred  pesos  down, 
Just  to  set  the  rascal's  crown 
Underneath  this  heel  of  mine  : 


^  44  Prodiictions — Poetry, 

Since  but  death 
Deserves  the  man  whose  deed, 
Be  it  vice  or  want  of  heed. 

Stops  the  pumps  that  give  us  breath, — 
Stops  the  pumps  that  suck  the  death 
From  the  poisoned  lower  levels  of  the  mine." 

Bret  Harte. 

8.  Do  you  ne'er  think  what  wondrous  beings  these  ? 

Do  you  ne'er  think  who  made  them,  and  who  taught 
The  dialect  they  speak,  where  melodies 

Alone  are  the  interpreters  of  thought  ? 
Whose  household  words  are  songs  in  many  keys, 

Sweeter  than  instrument  of  man  e'er  caught. 
Whose  habitations  in  the  tree-tops  even 
Are  half-way  houses  on  the  road  to  heaven. 

Think,  every  morning  when  the  sun  peeps  through 
The  dim,  leaf-latticed  windows  of  the  grove. 

How  jubilant  the  happy  birds  renew 
Their  old,  melodious  madrigals  of  love ! 

And  when  you  think  of  this,  remember,  too, 
'Tis  always  morning  somewhere,  and  above 

The  awakening  continents,  from  shore  to  shore, 

Somewhere  the  birds  are  singing  evermore. 

Think  of  your  woods  and  orchards  without  birds ! 

Of  empty  nests  that  cling  to  boughs  and  beams, 
As  in  an  idiot's  brain  remembered  words 

Hang  empty  'mid  the  cobwebs  of  his  dreams  ! 
Will  bleat  of  flocks  or  bellowing  of  herds 

Make  up  for  the  lost  music,  when  your  teams 
Drag  home  the  stingy  harvest,  and  no  more 
The  feathered  gleaners  follow  to  your  door  } 

And  so  the  dreadful  massacre  began  ; 

O'er  fields  and  orchards  and  o'er  woodland  crests. 
The  ceaseless  fusillade  of  terror  ran. 

Dead  fell  the  birds,  with  blood-stains  on  their  breasts, 


Metre,  245 

Or  wounded  crept  away  from  sight  of  man, 

While  the  young  died  of  famine  in  their  nests ; 
A  slaughter  to  be  told  in  groans,  not  words, 
The  very  St.  Bartholomew  of  Birds ! 

That  year  in  Killingworth  the  Autumn  came 

Without  the  light  of  his  majestic  look, 
The  wonder  of  the  falling  tongues  of  flame, 

The  illumined  pages  of  his  Doom's-Day  book. 
A  few  lost  leaves  blushed  crimson  with  their  shame. 

And  drowned  themselves  despairing  in  the  brook. 
While  the  wild  wind  went  moaning  everywhere, 
Lamenting  the  dead  children  of  the  air. 

Longfellow. 


LESSON    81. 

METRE  AND   RHYME. 

Under  the  general  head  of  the  form  of  poetry^  we  have 
spoken,  and  at  some  length,  of  rhythm.  We  pass  now  to 
a  closely  related  branch  of  the  same  subject — 

2.  Metre. — Metre  is  the  quality  of  a  poem  determined 
by  the  number  of  feet  in  a  regular  verse.  The  number 
of  feet  which  the  verses  regularly  have  determining 
the  metre  of  the  poem,  metre  should  not  be  confounded, 
as  it  so  often  is,  with  rhythm.  Rhythm  concerns  itself 
with  the  arrangement  of  syllables  into  feet,  and  it  is  the 
regular  recurrence  of  the  accent  which  divides  the  line 
into  these  syllabic  combinations.  It  is  the  number  of 
feet  in  each  line  or,  if  this  is  not  constant,  in  the  pre- 
vailing line,  which  constitutes  the  metre  of  a  poem. 
You  have  already  seen,  and  will  again  see,  that  the  num- 
]ber  of  feet  in  the  verses  of  a  poem  is  not  always  the 


246  Productions — Poetry, 

same.  But  the  variations  from  the  standard  number 
must  occur  with  regularity.  Poetry  to  be  poetry  must 
be  rhythmical,  but  not  all  poetry  has  been  metrical. 
Anglo-Saxon  poetry  was  not  always — verses  not  having 
each  the  same  number  of  feet  occur  in  an  A.  S.  poem,  and 
not  always  in  fixed  and  regular  sequence,  or  order  of 
succession.  Rhythm,  then,  is  more  vital  to  poetry  than  is 
metre.  Even  a  prose  sentence,  as  we  saw  in  Lesson  72, 
might  be  rhythmical,  might  demand  of  the  reader  at 
least  a  single  swell  and  sinking  of  the  voice,  but  prose 
could  hardly  be  metrical.  Metre,  the  regular  succession 
of  poetical  feet,  falls  in  like  rhythm  with  our  craving  for 
proportion,  modulation,  regularity,  and  is  in  keeping 
with  the  spirit  and  mission  of  poetry. 

The  metre  of  a  verse  consisting  of  two  feet  is  called 
dimeter ;  of  one  of  three  feet  trimeter;  of  four  feet  tetram- 
eter ;  of  five  feet  pentameter ;  of  six  feet  hexameter.  A 
line  of  one  foot,  if  such  there  be,  is  called  monometer. 
These  words  are  simply  names  of  the  number  of  feet  in 
a  line.  The  metre  of  a  poem  will  be  that  of  its  standard 
verse. 

Direction. — Name  the  metre  of  each  extract  in  the  preceding  Les- 
son. If  there  are  verses  which  do  not  have  the  standard  metre  of  the 
extract,  name  theirs. 

Metre  of  Psalms  and  Hymns.  —  Certain  religious 
poems,  called  psalms  and  hymns  and  set  to  music,  are 
written  in  metres  with  peculiar  names.  A  psalm  or 
hymn  in  long  metre,  marked  L.  M,,  is  made  up  of  four- 
line  stanzas,  each  line  tetrameter,  as  this: — 

O  Lord  divine,  that  stooped  to  share 
Our  sharpest  pang,  our  bitterest  tear, 
On  thee  we  cast  each  earthborn  care, 
'VV^  smile  at  pain  while  thou  art  ne^r. 


Metre  of  Psalms  and  Hymns,  247 


Though  long  the  weary  way  we  tread, 
And  sorrow  crown  each  lingering  year. 
No  paths  we  shun,  no  darkness  dread, 
Our  hearts  still  whispering.  Thou  art  near. 

A  psalm  or  hymn  in  common  metre,  marked  C.  M.,  con- 
sists of  four-line  stanzas,  the  first  and  third  line  tetrame- 
ter, and  the  second  and  fourth  trimeter,  as  this: — 

No  mortal  can  with  him  compare 

Among  the  sons  of  men  ; 
Fairer  is  he  than  all  the  fair 

That  fill  the  heavenly  train. 

A  psalm  or  hymn  in  short  metre,  marked  S.  M.,  con- 
sists of  four-line  stanzas,  the  third  line  tetrameter,  and 
the  first,  second,  and  fourth  trimeter,  as  this: — 

Stand  up  and  bless  the  Lord, 

Ye  people  of  his  choice ; 

Stand  up  and  bless  the  Lord  your  God 

With  heart  and  soul  and  voice. 

A  hymn  in  hallelujah  metre,  marked  H.  M.,  consists  of 
eight-line  stanzas  (the  last  four  sometimes  written  as 
two),  the  first,  second,  third,  and  fourth  trimeter,  and  the 
remaining  four  dimeter,  as  this: — 

The  warbling  notes  pursue. 
And  louder  anthems  raise. 
While  mortals  sing  with  you 
Their  own  Redeemer's  praise ; 

And  thou,  my  heart, 

With  equal  flame 

And  joy  the  same 

Perform  thy  part, 


248  Productions — Poetry, 

A  hymn  in  long  particular  metre,  marked  L.  P.  M.,  con- 
sists of  six-line  stanzas,  all  tetrameter,  as  this: — 

Judges,  who  rule  the  world  by  laws, 

Will  ye  despise  the  righteous  cause. 

When  the  oppressed  before  you  stands  ? 

Dare  ye  condemn  the  righteous  poor, 

And  let  rich  sinners  go  secure, 

While  gold  and  greatness  bribe  your  hands  ? 

Other  hymns,  marked  4's  orS's  or  6's  or  8's  and  7's,  etc., 
etc.,  are  found  in  our  books.  These  numerals  mark  the 
number  of  syllables  in  a  verse. 

Rhythm  and  metre,  two  of  the  three  elements  which 
determine  the  form  of  poetry,  have  been  examined  and 
illustrated.  We  come  now  to  the  third  and  last  ele- 
ment, which  is  not  necessary  but  accidental. 

3.  Rhyme. — Rhyme  is  the  accordance  in  sound  of  the 
final  syllables  of  verses.  A  couplet  is  the  two  verses 
which  rhyme  with  each  other.  The  rhyming  syllables 
must  not  be  completely  identical  in  sound  but  only  simi- 
lar— identical  from  the  accented  vowel  to  the  end,  as  in 
this  couplet: — 

A  man  he  was  to  all  the  country  ^ear 
And  passing  rich  with  forty  pounds  a  year. 

If  the  final  foot  in  each  verse  of  the  couplet  is  accented 
on  the  last  syllable  but  one, — is  a  trochee  or  an  amphi- 
brach— the  syllables  next  to  the  last  must  rhyme,  the 
last  syllables,  in  this  case,  being  identical.  Such  rhymes, 
called  double  rhymes,  are  illustrated  in  the  first  and  third 
verses  below: — 

But  the  young,  young  children,  O  my  hrothers, 

Do  you  ask  them  why  they  stand 
Weeping  sore  before  the  bosoms  of  their  mothers 

In  our  happy  father-land  ? 


Line-Rhyme  a7td  Alliteration,  249 

If  the  final  foot  in  each  verse  of  the  couplet  is  a  dactyl, 
the  last  syllable  but  two  in  one  verse  is  that  which  must 
rhyme  with  the  corresponding  syllable  in  the  other. 
Such  rhymes,  called  triple  rhymes,  are  illustrated  in  the 
first  and  third  verses  below: — 

Take  her  up  tetiderly. 
Lift  her  with  care, 
Fashioned  so  slenderly. 
Young  and  so  fair. 

Line-Rhyme  is  the  agreement  in  sound  between  the 
final  letters  of  two  words  or  of  two  syllables  of  words  in 
the  same  verse,  as  in  these  lines  which  we  borrow  from 
Marsh: — 

1.  Her  loo/^  was  Wke  the  morning  star. 

2.  Here  in  ivo?tt  you  can  see  the  very  d'mt  of  the  bullet. 

3.  Long  at  the  window  he  stood,  and  wistfully  gazed   on  the 

la;2^scape. 

These  verses  from  Poe,  Marsh  would  say,  do  not  con- 
tain line-rhymes,  since  at  beams  and  rise  the  first  and  third 
lines  might  be  broken,  each  into  two,  and  then  the 
rhyme  would  be  terminal,  or  ordinary,  rhyme: — 

For  the  moon  never  beams,  without  bringing  me  dreains 

Of  the  beautiful  Annabel  Lee ; 
And  the  stars  never  rise,  but  I  feel  the  bright  eyes 

Of  the  beautiful  Annabel  Lee. 

Alliteration,  the  repetition  of  the  same  letter  or  let- 
ters at  the  beginning  of  words,  is  also  found  in  poetry, 
as  in  these  verses: — 

1.  There  /ived  in  Zombardy,  as  authors  write, 
In  days  old  a  7£/ise  and  worthy  Knight. 

2.  And  rivulets,  rejoicing,  rush  and  leap. 

3.  He  rushed  into  the/ield,  and/oremost/ighting,/ell, 

4.  5/eady,  ^/raightforward,  and  ^/rong,  with  irresistible  logic. 


250  Productions — Poetry, 

Rhyme  proper,  or  terminal  rhyme,  line-rhyme  and 
alliteration  are  all  repetitions  of  similar  sounds.  They 
are  agreeable  to  the  ear  in  poetry.  They  accord  with 
the  other  appliances  by  which  the  form  of  poetry  is 
fitted  to  the  spirit,  and  deepen  the  effect  upon  the  feel- 
ings. 

Direction. — Point  out  all  illustrations  of  these  in  the  preceding 
Lesson. 

Rhyme  in  English  is  more  difficult  than  it  is  in  lan- 
guages highly  inflected,  and  abounding  in  common 
terminations.  It  has  been  estimated  that  casting  out 
the  English  words  incapable  of  rhyme,  the  ratio  of 
those  which. have  rhymes  to  the  total  number  of  rhym- 
ing endings  is  as  three  to  one  ;  or,  to  turn  it  about,  the 
number  of  different  rhymes  in  English  to  the  words 
having  them  is  as  one  to  three.  This  is  very  much  less 
than  in  many  other  modern  languages.  This  poverty  in 
rhyme  in  English  accounts  for  many  inexact  rhymes — 
some  of  which  may  be  seen  in  the  extracts  of  the  pre- 
ceding Lesson — and  for  the  introduction  and  wide  adop- 
tion, especially  in  long  poems,  of  blank-verse. 

Blank- Veese  is  verse  without  rhyme.  Here  are  a  few 
lines  in  it  : — 

But,  looking  deep,  he  saw 
The  thorns  which  grow  upon  this  rose  of  life: 
How  the  swart  peasant  sweated  for  his  wage, 
Toiling  for  leave  to  live ;  and  how  he  urged 
The  great-eyed  oxen  through  the  flaming  hours, 
Goading  their  velvet  flanks :  then  marked  he,  too, 
How  lizard  fed  on  ant,  and  snake  on  him,  i 

And  kite  on  both ;  and  how  the  fish-hawk  robbed 
The  fish-tiger  of  that  v/hich  it  had  seized ; 
The  shrike  chasing  the  bulbul,  which  did  chase 
The  jewelled  butterflies ;  till  everywhere 


Kinds  of  Poeti^y,  251 


Each  slew  a  slayer  and  in  turn  was  slain, 
Life  living  upon  death.     So  the  fair  show 
Veiled  one  vast,  savage,  grim  conspiracy 
Of  mutual  murder,  from  the  worm  to  man, 
Who  himself  kills  his  fellow ;  seeing  which — 
Thehungry  ploughman  and  his  laboring  kine, 
Their  dewlaps  blistered  with  the  bitter  yoke, 
The  rage  to  live  which  makes  all  living  strife — 
The  Prince  Siddartha  sighed. 

Direction. — Scan  the  poetry  of  this  Lesson. 


LESSON  82. 

WRITTEN   DISCOURSE — POETRY,   KINDS   OF. 

Didactic  Poetry. — Didactic  poetry  is  that  which  aims 
to  teach.  But  to  call  that  which  directly  aims  to  teach, 
poetry,  is  to  be  guilty  of  a  misnomer.  In  so  far  as  po- 
etry aims  directly  at  instruction,  it  usurps,  as  has  been 
said,  the  function  of  prose.  Prose  is  free  from  all  the 
artifices  and  all  the  restraints  of  poetry — rhythm,  metre, 
rhyme — those  peculiarities  of  poetry  which  solicit  our 
thoughts  from  the  subject-matter,  and  fix  them  atten- 
tively upon  the  expression  of  it.  That  poetry,  then, 
which  essays  to  teach,  "  defeats  its  strong  intent,"  the 
charm  and  fascination  of  the  form  withdrawing  us  from 
the  instruction  conveyed;  the  instruction,  if  attended  to, 
luring  us  away  from  the  beauty  of  the  expression. 
While,  therefore,  we  call  such  compositions  poetry,  di- 
dactic poetry,  we  do  it  under  protest,  compelled  to 
name  that  poetry  which  is  poetic  in  form  even  if  not  in 
spirit. 


252  Productions — Poetry. 

Satirical  Poetry. — Satirical  poetry  is  that  which  lashes 
the  vices  and  follies  of  men.  Its  aim  is  destructive,  its 
spirit  often  malevolent ;  there  is  little  of  sweetness  in 
it,  the  feelings  which  engender  it  and  those  to  which  it 
ministers  are  not  the  most  healthful  and  humane.  When 
the  relations  of  poets  to  poets  and  to  critics  were  less 
friendly  or  even  courteous  than  they  are  now,  poetry  of 
this  kind,  in  poems  of  great  length,  abounded.  But  since 
Addison's  day,  when  English  prose  first  overtook  poetry 
and  commenced  running  abreast  with  it,  satire,  as  well 
as  instruction,  has  sought  expression  through  prose;  and 
both  satirical  and  didactic  poetry  have  lost  favor,  and 
are  not  now  cultivated  as  they  were.  The  great  satires 
of  Dryden  and  of  Pope  did  much,  Thackeray  thinks,  to 
bring  the  profession  of  literature  into  contempt. 

Lyric  Poetry. — Lyric  poetry  is  that  which  is  written  to 
be  sung.  The  range  of  its  topics  is  wide,  but  the  range 
of  feelings  which  inspire  it  and  which  it  inspires  is  nar- 
row ;  within  this  realm,  however,  its  reign  is  supreme. 
Lyric  poetry  may  be  divided  into  sacred  and  secular. 
Hymns  and  psalms,  expressing  our  feelings  toward  God, 
constitute  the  one  ;  songs  relating  to  battle,  to  patriot- 
ism, to  party,  and  to  sociality,  and  odes,  elegies,  and 
sonnets  form  the  bulk  of  the  other.  The  ode,  a  poem 
longer  than  an  ordinary  song  and  full  of  lofty  passion  ; 
the  elegy,  also  a  long  poem  whose  burden  is  regret  for 
the  dead  ;  and  the  sonnet,  a  poem  of  fourteen  lines,  can- 
not always  be  called  lyric  now,  if  we  rigidly  restrict  lyric 
to  poetry  which  is  sung. 

Prof.  Hadley  says,  ''The  poetry  of  our  day  has  been 
almost  exclusively  lyrical ;  our  poets  have,  to  a  singular 
extent,  been  song-writers."  And  he  accounts  for  this  by 
adding,  "  Moving  hotly  and  hurriedly  in  the  career  of 
politics,  or  swallowed  up  in   business,   or   prosecuting 


Pastoral  and  Epic  Poetry,  253 

science  with  a  zeal  never  before  paralleled,  we  have  found 
no  time  for  lengthened  poems." 

The  influence  of  lyric  poetry  is  well  expressed  in  that 
oft-quoted  sentence  of  Sir  Andrew  Fletcher's,  "  If  a  man 
were  permitted  to  make  all  the  ballads  of  a  nation,  he 
need  not  care  who  should  make  its  laws."  For  out  of  the 
very  songs  that  we  sing  there  steals  an  influence  that 
enters  into  us,  and  does  much  to  direct  our  conduct  and 
shape  our  character,  almost  rendering  needless  the  pow- 
erful restraints  of  law. 

Pastoral  Poetry. — Pastoral  poetry  is  that  which  deals 
with  the  objects  of  external  nature.  It  finds  its  topics 
in  the  greenness  and  freshness  of  verdure,  in  the  life  and 
growth  of  spring  ;  in  the  sunrise  and  sunset,  the  sun- 
shine and  rain  of  summer  ;  the  yellow  harvests,  the  rich 
coloring  of  the  woods,  the  dreamy  Indian  summer  days, 
and  the  gradual  decadence  of  nature's  growths  in  au-^ 
tumn  ;  and  in  the  winds,  the  falling  snow,  the  bracing 
out-door  sports  of  winter.  Flower  and  leaf  and  bird 
and  insect,  the  scenery  of  mountain  and  valley  and  rivers 
and  lakes  and  clouds,  rural  life  in  all  its  changes,  na- 
ture in  all  her  moods — these  not  as  matter  for  mere  de- 
scription or  for  science,  but  as  objects  of  beauty — these, 
seen  by  the  eye  of  a  Bryant,  or  by  the  keener  eye  of  a 
Wordsworth — these  are  the  subjects  of  pastoral  poetry. 
No  poetry  is  better  understood  or  appreciated,  and 
none  is  more  popular.  Poems  of  this  kind,  short,  and 
endlessly  varied  in  subject  and  in  form,  abound,  and 
constitute  a  most  entertaining  and  valuable  part  of 
poetic  literature. 

Epic  Poetry. — Epic  poetry  is  that  which  deals  with 
the  life  and  adventures  of  some  real  or  mythic  person- 
age, called  a  hero.  An  epic  poem  is  usually  long — too 
long  to  be  read  at  a  single  sitting.     Intense  feeling,  such 


2  54  Productzojis — Poeiiy. 

as  poetry  arouses,  is  in  its  nature  exhausting,  and  in  du- 
ration is,  and  must  be,  brief — '^  Violent  delights  have 
violent  ends,  and  in  their  triumph  die."  The  opinion 
of  Poe  that  such  a  composition  as  ''  Paradise  Lost"  is  not 
so  truly  a  poem  as  a  series  of  poems,  seems  to  be  gain- 
ing acceptance.  Such  sustained  efforts  are  now  rare  in 
English,  though  not  wholly  of  the  past.  We  must  take 
this  statement  of  Hadley's,  made  in  1849,  with  some 
grains  of  allowance:  ^^  As  for  great  constructive  poems, 
vast  systems  of  narrative,  meditation,  and  description, 
built  up  in  the  deeps  of  an  ideal  world,  they  have  well- 
nigh  disappeared.  In  America,  where  the  influences 
that  oppose  their  construction  are  the  strongest,  we  have 
nothing  of  the  kind.  The  occasional  attempts  which 
we  have  seen  in  epic  and  dramatic  composition  have 
been  generally  unsuccessful.  Yet  this  has  been  almost 
equally  the  case  in  England." 

An  epic  poem  affords  room  for  a  vast  variety  of  topics 
and  of  treatment,  and  demands  of  the  poet  a  higher 
grade  and  a  wider  range  of  powers  than  are  common. 
A  great  epic  is  the  work  of  genius  toiling  it  may  be  for 
years.  It  ''does  not  need  repeat,"  but  insures  at  once 
the  author's  immortality. 

The  heroic  measure,  the  pentameter,  is  the  metre  gen- 
erally used  in  the  English  epic.  The  poem  is  written 
in  blank-verse  rather  than  in  rhyme. 

A  few  great  epics  can  be  found  in  our  inheritance  of 
English  literature. 

Dramatic  Poetry. — Dramatic  poetry  is  poetry  written 
to  be  acted.  Dramatic  poetry  exists  in  the  form  called 
plays.  Written  to  be  acted,  these  are  written  so  that  they 
can  be  acted.  There  is  in  them  little  that  is  common- 
place ;  everything  is  positive  and  pronounced  ;  the  pas- 


Dramatic  Poetry,  255 

sion  is  strong,  often  tumultuous,  the  thought  is  vigor- 
ous, the  incidents  exciting. 

The  divisions  of  dramatic  poetry  commonly  made  are 
comedy  and  tragedy.  Comedy  is  light  and  humorous, 
abounding  in  ludicrous  action  and  incident.  There  is 
often  a  dash  of  satire  in  the  wit,  but  its  main  purpose  is 
to  amuse.  Tragedy  is  more  earnest  and  serious,  deals 
often  with  great  men  and  lofty  actions — with  those  ac- 
tions which  lead  to  calamitous  and  even  fatal  issues. 
But  comedy  and  tragedy  are  found  side  by  side  in  the 
greatest  dramas,  as  they  are  in  real  life. 

The  human  element  is  the  prevailing  one  in  dramatic 
poetry.  Such  poetry  brings  people  of  all  grades  of 
station,  culture,  and  character  upon  the  stage,  there  to 
act  and  talk  as  real  men  in  their  circumstances  would 
do.  It  is  by  what  they  do  and  say,  and  by  these  alone, 
that  they  exhibit  what  manner  of  men  and  women  they 
are.  The  great  work  of  the  dramatist  is  impersonation 
— the  embodying  and  the  revelation  of  character.  This 
kind  of  poetry  is  in  verse  what  fiction  is  in  prose;  indeed, 
plays  not  written  in  verse  belong  to  that  division  of 
prose  called  fiction. 

History  furnishes  a  favorite  field  for  the  dramatist. 
The  real  personages  of  the  past  or  of  the  present,  as  the 
poet  conceives  them,  are  placed  upon  the  stage  before 
us,  and  are  made  to  live  over  again  some  portion  of  their 
lives.  In  doing  this  and  in  uttering  what  the  dramatist 
puts  into  their  mouths,  they  stand  out  in  the  play  more 
distinct  and  often  truer  to  life  than  they  do  on  the  pages 
of  history.  Mark  Antony,  Julius  Caesar,  Coriolanus,  and 
Cleopatra  are  better  revealed  in  the  dramas  of  Shake- 
speare than  they  are  in  '^  Plutarch's  Lives." 

But  the  triumphs  of  dramatic  art  are  better  seen,  per- 


256  Productions — Poetry, 

haps,  in  its  purely  fix:titious  personages,  representations 
of  classes  of  men  or  women  in  real  life.  In  the  crea- 
tion of  these,  all  the  poet's  knowledge  of  human  nature 
in  its  broad  features  and  in  the  delicate  shades  of 
character  by  which  men  differ,  one  from  another,  is 
brought  into  use.  His  ability  to  construct  a  plot  and  to 
invent  opportunities  for  the  development  of  his  charac- 
ters— each  made  to  influence  others  and  their  material 
surroundings  to  influence  all — has  widest  scope  and  is 
put  to  the  severest  test.  There  is  room  here  for  profound 
insight,  for  imagination  of  high  order,  and  for  the  most 
varied  exercise  of  artistic  skill.  Without  intending  it 
as  his  main  purpose,  the  poet  makes  a  deep  impression 
upon  the  intellect  of  the  spectator  or  reader,  and  leaves 
some  deposit  upon  his  character. 

In  dramatic  poetry,  the  poet  keeps  himself  behind  the 
scenes  and  out  of  sight.  His  choices  and  his  personality 
are  not  disclosed.  The  excellence  of  the  play  depends, 
in  large  part,  on  the  poet's  fidelity  to  nature,  on  his 
bringing  into  active  exercise  the  proper  agencies,  and 
those  only,  and  in  allowing  these  to  work  out  their  natural 
issue  without  help  or  hindrance  from  him. 

Into  dramatic  poetry  there  are  introduced  description 
and  narrative.  There  may  be  great  variety  of  incident, 
but  there  must  be  unity  of  action,  each  part  helping  on 
every  other,  and  all  contributing  to  one  result. 

Rhyme  may  occasionally  alternate  with  blank-verse,  and 
prose  may  be  put  into  the  mouths  of  some  of  the  charac- 
ters, especially  the  more  common, — even  into  the  mouths 
of  the  greater  characters  in  their  more  common  moods. 

Concluding  Remarks  upon  Poetry.  —  In  his  great 
paper  upon  Milton,  Macaulay  says,  "  As  civilization  ad- 
vances, poetry  almost  necessarily  declines."  The  truth 
of  this  assertion  seems  open  to  question.     In  its  highest 


Remarks  ttpon  Poetry,  257 

essentials,  civilization  had  advanced  in  the  two  thousand 
years  between  ^schylus  and  Shakespeare,  but  surely 
dramatic  poetry,  as  represented  by  these  two,  did  not 
decline  in  the  interval.  The  lyric  poetry  of  Burns  is 
not  inferior  to  that  of  Anacreon,  nor  the  great  epic  of 
Milton  to  that  of  Dante  or  that  of  Tasso.  In  all  that  goes 
to  the  making  of  the  highest  and  the  best  poetry,  the' 
manhood  of  the  race  is,  and  must  be,  richer  than  its  in- 
fancy. He  would  not  be  rash  who  should  affirm  that  in 
sensibility  to  the  charms  of  rural  scenery  and  landscape 
beauty,  as  well  as  in  the  ethereal  perception  of  the 
graces  of  character,  our  own  Chaucer, — and  we  have  ad* 
vanced  in  the  five  hundred  years  since  his  day — living 
in  the  autumn  of  the  race,  is  superior  to  Homer  living 
in  its  spring-time.  It  is  certain  that  poetry  is  more 
needed  now  than  ever  before,  and  may  we  not  rejoice  in 
the  belief  that  it  is  more  widely  read  and  better  appre- 
ciated now  than  ever  before  ?-  If  here,  as  elsewhere,  the 
demand  creates  a  supply,  we  need  not  be  apprehensive 
of  the  future  of  poetry.  It  has  this  added  felicity  that, 
as  knowledge  accumulates,  material  for  poetry  accumu- 
lates. Every  truth  which  brings  any  nourishment  to 
the  intellect  has  a  poetic  side  to  it,  and  can  furnish  the 
poet  a  suggestion  which  may  be  worked  into  the  back- 
ground of  his  picture,  or  even  stand  in  the  foreground 
as  the  subject  of  it. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  future  of  poetry,  we  may 
comfort  ourselves  with  the  thought  that  there  is  enough 
and  more  than  enough  for  all  our  needs,  though  another 
line  of  poetry  should  never  be  written.  From  the  be- 
ginning, poetry  has  attracted  to  itself  the  great  writers 
of  every  age  and  tongue.  The  best  thought  of  the 
world,  alive  and  aglow  with  the  best  feelings  that  bubble 
up  from  the  spring  of  the  hearty  has  gone  into  it  as  its 


258  Productions — Poetry, 

warp  and  its  woof.  These  rich  coinages  of  the  imagi- 
nation, instinct  with  passion,  the  great  masters  have  in- 
carnated in  language,  felicitous  and  mellifluous,  gemmed 
with  imagery,  musical  with  the  melody  of  rhythm — fit 
body  for  the  indwelling  soul, — and  on  the  pages  of  all 
our  libraries  hang  these  pictures  which  have  the  power 
'to  move  denied  to  the  paintings  of  Raphael  or  the  statues 
of  Phidias. 

And  this  inheritance  of  ours  never  wastes.  Poetry, 
ministering  to  that  part  of  us  which  never  changes, 
does  not  grow  old  and  unserviceable.  What  satisfies 
our  aesthetic  nature  completely  will  continue  to  satisfy 
it — we  can  no  more  outgrow  it  than  our  lungs  can  out- 
grow air.  Poetry  is  immortal.  Its  immortality  it  does 
not  share  with  the  bald  facts  and  truths  of  science, 
this  does  not  belong  even  to  the  thought  which  is  the 
staple  of  poetry.  The  feeling,  the  sentiment,  which 
floods  the  thought  is  what  preserves  it — this  is  the  spices 
and  the  aloes  that  embalm  it,  the  amber  which  envelops 
it,  and  keeps  it  forever  from  decay.  Nay,  poetry,  which 
haunts  the  memory  as  prose  never  does,  and,  bidden  or 
unbidden,  is  ever  coming  down  out  of  it  into  conscious- 
ness, and  singing  itself  on  our  tongues,  is  not  only  a  "  joy 
forever,"  but  is  forever  becoming  more  and  more  a  joy. 
For  poems  grow,  grow  richer  and  better  by  use;  and 
this  not  by  what  they  lose  but  by  what  they  gain,  for 
out  of  us  there  goes,  at  every  reading  of  them,  something 
which  enters  into  them,  and  sweetens  them  as  sunbeams 
sweeten  grapes.  Not  only  do  their  words  grow  into 
place  and  grow  together,  from  frequent  repetition  of 
them,  but,  little  by  little,  poems  fill  their  pores  and  color 
through  and  through  with  the  emotions  which  they 
awaken  in  us,  and  which  pass  out  of  us  and  enter  into 


Remarks  upon  Poetry.  259 

them  until  they  become  redolent,  and  exhale  a  fragrance 
which  makes  their  very  atmosphere  aromatic. 

Let  us  substitute  Read  for  Not  in  a  stanza  of  Longfel- 
low's, and  conclude  these  remarks  by  quoting 

"  [Read]  from  the  grand  old  masters, 
[Read]  from  the  bards  sublime, 
Whose  distant  footsteps  echo 
Through  the  corridors  of  time;  ^ 

Read  from  some  humbler  poet 
Whose  songs  gushed  from  his  heart, 
As  showers  from  the  clouds  of  summer 
Or  tears  from  the  eyelids  start  ;— 

And  the  night  shall  be  filled  with  music. 
And  the  cares  that  infest  the  day 
Shall  fold  their  tents,  like  the  Arabs, 
And  as  silently  steal  away." 


26o 


ProdtLctions — Poetry, 


A  SCHEME  FOR  REVIEW. 


I.  Mission. 


II.  Style. 


H 

o 


III.  Form. 


Kinds  of 
Poetry. 


Poetry — Definition.  Differs  from  ordi- 
nary Prose  in  three  things  : — 

Primary  Mission  to  the  Feelings.  Second- 
ary to  the  Intellect  and  to  the  Will. 

1.  Words. 

2.  Arrangement. 

3.  Imagery. 
Definition.  A  Foot.  Two 

Dissyllabic  Feet.  Three 
Trisyllabic  Feet.  Mon- 
osyllabic      Foot.       A 
Verse.     A  Stanza.    A 
Poem.     The    Caesura. 
Elision.  Scansion. 
Definition.    Metre  in  or- 
dinary Poetry.     Metre 
in  Poetry  set  to  Music. 
Definition.     Double  and 
Triple  Rhyme.     Line- 
Rhyme.     Alliteration. 
I      A     Couplet.      Blank- 
ly    Verse. 
Didactic  Poetry. 
Satirical  Poetry. 

Lyric  poetry.      \ 

IV.  Pastoral  Poetry. 
V.  Epic  Poetry. 


I.  Rhythm.^ 


2.  Metre. 


3.  Rhyme. 


I. 
II. 

in. 


Sacred. 
Secular. 


VI.  Dramatic  Poetry.      \ 

v. 

Concludmg  Remarks  upon  Poetry. 


Comedy. 
Tragedy. 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Poetry,         261 


LESSON  83. 

EXTRACTS   FOR   THE   STUDY  OF   POETRY. 

Direction. — Classify  these  extracts,  scan  them,  give   their  metre, 
and  note  their  beauty  of  thought,  words,  and  imagery: — 

I.  A  brook  came  stealing  from  the  ground  ; 
You  scarcely  saw  its  silvery  gleam 
Among  the  herbs  that  hung  around 
The  borders  of  that  winding  stream, — ■ 
A  pretty  stream,  a  placid  stream, 
A  softly  gliding,  bashful  stream. 

A  breeze  came  wandering  from  the  sky, 

Light  as  the  whispers  of  a  dream  ; 
He  put  the  o'erhanging  grasses  by, 

And  gayly  stooped  to  kiss  the  stream, — 

The  pretty  stream,  the  flattered  stream. 

The  shy,  yet  unreluctant  stream. 

The  water,  as  the  wind  passed  o'er. 
Shot  upward  many  a  glancing  beam. 

Dimpled  and  quivered  more  and  more. 
And  tripped  along  a  livelier  stream, — 
The  flattered  stream,  the  simpering  stream. 
The  fond,  delighted,  silly  stream. 

Away  the  airy  wanderer  flew 

To  where  the  fields  with  blossoms  teem, 

To  sparkling  springs  and  rivers  blue, 
And  left  alone  that  little  stream, — 
The  flattered  stream,  the  cheated  stream, 
The  sad,  forsaken,  lonely  stream. 


262  Productzojts — Poetry, 

That  careless  wind  no  more  came  back  ; 
He  wanders  yet  the  fields,  I  deem  ; 

But  on  its  melancholy  track 

Complaining  went  that  little  stream, — 
The  cheated  stream,  the  hopeless  stream, 
The  ever  murmuring,  moaning  stream. 

Bryant. 

2.         Duke.     Now,  my  co-mates,  and  brothers  in  exile, 
Hath  not  old  custom  made  this  life  more  sweet 
Than  that  of  painted  pomp.^     Are  not  these  woods 
More  free  from  peril  than  the  envious  court? 
Here  feel  w^e  but  the  penalty  of  Adam, — 
The  seasons'  difference — as,  the  icy  fang 
And  churlish  chiding  of  the  Winter's  wind— 
Which  when  it  bites,  and  blows  upon  my  body. 
Even  till  I  shrink  with  cold,  I  smile,  and  say, 
This  is  no  flattery — these  are  the  counsellors 
That  feelingly  persuade  me  what  I  am. 
Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity. 
Which,  like  the  toad,  ugly  and  venomous. 
Wears  yet  a  precious  jewel  in  his  head  ; 
And  this  our  life,  exempt  from  public  haunt. 
Finds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks. 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything : 
I  would  not  change  it. 

Amiens.     Happy  is  your  Grace, 
That  can  translate  the  stubbornness  of  fortune 
Into  so  quiet  and  so  sweet  a  style. 

Duke.     Come,  shall  we  go  and  kill  us  venison  ? 
And  yet  it  irks  me  the  poor  dappled  fools. 
Being  native  burghers  of  this  desert  city, 
Should,  in  their  own  confines,  with  forked  heads 
Have  their  round  haunches  gored. 

I.  Lord.  Indeed,  my  lord. 

The  melancholy  Jaques  grieves  at  that ; 
And,  in  that  kind,  swears  you  do  more  usurp 
Than  doth  your  brother  that  hath  banished  you. 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Poetry.         263 


To-day  my  lord  of  Amiens  and  myself 
Did  steal  behind  him,  as  he  lay  along 
Under  an  oak,  whose  antique  root  peeps  out 
Upon  the  brook  that  brawls  along  this  wood: 
To  the  which  place,  a  poor  sequestered  stag, 
That  from  the  hunter's  aim  had  ta'en  a  hurt. 
Did  come  to  languish  ;  and,  indeed,  my  lord. 
The  wretched  animal  heaved  forth  such  groans 
That  their  discharge  did  stretch  his  leathern  coat 
Almost  to  bursting ;  and  the  big,  round  tears 
Coursed  one  another  down  his  innocent  nose 
In  piteous  chase  ;  and  thus  the  hairy  fool, 
Much  marked  of  the  melancholy  Jaques, 
Stood  on  th*  extremes!  verge  of  the  swift  brook. 
Augmenting  it  with  tears. 

Duke.  But  what  said  Jaques  .> 

Did  he  not  moralize  this  spectacle  } 

I.  Lord.     Oh  yes,  into  a  thousand  similes. 
First,  for  his  weeping  into  th'  needless  stream  ; 

*  Poor  deer,"  quoth  he,  "thou  mak'st  a  testament 
As  worldlings  do,  giving  thy  sum  of  more 

To  that  which  had  too  much."     Then,  being  alone. 
Left  and  abandoned  of  his  velvet  friends  ; 

*  'Tis  right,"  quoth  he  ;  "thus  misery  doth  part 
The  flux  of  company."  Anon,  a  careless  herd. 
Full  of  the  pasture,  jumps  along  by  him. 

And  never  stays  to  greet  him.     "  Ay,"  quoth  Jaques, 
"  Sweep  on,  you  fat  and  greasy  citizens  ; 
*Tis  just  the  fashion ;  wherefore  do  you  look 
Upon  that  poor  and  broken  bankrupt  there  .^" 
Thus  most  invectively  he  pierceth  through 
The  body  of  the  country,  city,  court. 
Yea,  and  of  this  our  life;  swearing  that  we 
Are  mere  usurpers,  tyrants,  and  what's  worse. 
To  fright  the  animals,  and  to  kill  them  up 
In  their  assigned  and  native  dwelling  place. 

DUKE.     And  did  you  leave  him  in  this  contemplation  ? 


2  64  Productions — Poetry, 


2.  Lord.     We  did,  my  lord,  weeping  and  commenting 
Upon  the  sobbing  deer.  Shakespeare. 

3.  But  Buddha  softly  said, 

**  Let  him  not  strike,  great  King  I"  and  therewith  loosed 
The  victim's  bonds,  none  staying  him,  so  great 
His  presence  was.     Then,  craving  leave,  he  spake 
Of  life,  which  all  can  take  but  none  can  give. 
Life,  which  all  creatures  love  and  strive  to  keep, 
Wonderful,  dear,  and  pleasant  unto  each. 
Even  to  the  meanest ;  yea,  a  boon  to  all 
Where  pity  is,  for  pity  makes  the  world 
Soft  to  the  weak  and  noble  for  the  strong. 
Unto  the  dumb  lips  of  his  flock  he  lent 
Sad,  pleading  words  showing  how  man,  who  prays 
For  mercy  of  the  gods,  is  merciless, 
Being  as  god  to  those ;  albeit  all  life 
Is  linked  and  kin,  and  what  we  slay  have  given 
Meek  tribute  of  the  milk  and  wool,  and  set 
Fast  trust  upon  the  hands  which  murder  them. 
Also  he  spake  of  what  the  holy  books 
Do  surely  teach,  how  that  at  death  some  sink 
To  bird  and  beast,  and  these  rise  up  to  man 
In  wanderings  of  the  spark  which  grows  purged  fllame. 
So  were  the  sacrifice  new  sin,  if  so 
The  fated  passage  of  a  soul  be  stayed. 
Nor,  spake  he,  shall  one  wash  his  spirit  clean 
By  blood ;  nor  gladden  gods,  being  good,  with  blood  ; 
Nor  bribe  them,  being  evil ;  nay,  nor  lay 
Upon  the  brow  of  innocent  bound  beasts 
One  hair's  weight  of  that  answer  all  must  give 
For  all  things  done  amiss  or  wrongfully. 
Alone,  each  for  himself,  reckoning  with  that 
The  fixed  arithmic  of  the  universe, 
Which  meteth  good  for  good  and  ill  for  ill, 
Measure  for  measure,  unto  deeds,  words,  thoughts ; 
Watchful,  aware,  implacable,  unmoved; 
Making  all  futures  fruits  of  all  the  pasts. 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Poetry,        265 

Thus  spake  he,  breathing  words  so  piteous 

With  such  high  lordliness  of  ruth  and  right, 

The  priests  drew  back  their  garments  o'er  the  hands 

Crimsoned  with  slaughter,  and  the  King  came  near. 

Standing  with  clasped  palms  reverencing  Buddh ; 

While  still  our  Lord  went  on,  teaching  how  fair 

This  earth  were  if  all  living  things  be  linked 

In  friendliness  and  common  use  of  foods, 

Bloodless  and  pure ;  the  golden  grain,  bright  fruits, 

Sweet  herbs  which  grow  for  all,  the  waters  wan. 

Sufficient  drinks  and  meats.     Which  when  these  heard, 

The  might  of  gentleness  so  conquered  them 

The  priests  themselves  scattered  their  altar-flames 

And  flung  away  the  steel  of  sacrifice. 

Edwin  Arnold. 

4.  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul. 
Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly. 
While  the  billows  near  me  roll. 
While  the  tempest  still  is  high. 
Hide  me,  O  my  Saviour,  hide, 
Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past ; 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide. 
Oh  !  receive  my  soul  at  last. 

Other  refuge  have  I  none ; 
Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  thee ; 
Leave,  ah  !  leave  me  not  alone. 
Still  support  and  comfort  me. 
All  my  trust  on  thee  is  stayed, 
All  my  help  from  thee  I  bring ; 
Cover  my  defenceless  head 
With  the  shadow  of  thy  wing. 

Thou,  O  Christ,  art  all  I  want ; 
More  than  all  in  thee  I  find ; 
Raise  the  fallen,  cheer  the  faint. 
Heal  the  sick,  and  lead  the  blind. 


266  Productions — Poetry, 

Just  and  holy  is  thy  name  ; 
I  am  all  unrighteousness ; 
False,  and  full  of  sin  I  am, 
Thou  art  full  of  truth  and  grace. 

Plenteous  grace  with  thee  is  found, 
Grace  to  cover  all  my  sin  ; 
Let  the  healing  streams  abound, 
Make  and  keep  me  pure  within. 
Thou  of  life  the  fountain  art, 
Freely  let  me  take  of  thee ; 
Spring  thou  up  within  my  heart. 
Rise  to  all  eternity. 

Charles  Wesley. 

;.   But  most  by  numbers  judge  a  poet's  song. 

And  smooth  or  rough,  with  them,  is  right  or  wrong. 

In  the  bright  muse  though  thousand  charms  conspire. 

Her  voice  is  all  these  tuneful  fools  admire  ; 

Who  haunt  Parnassus  but  to  please  their  ear, 

Not  mend  their  minds ;  as  some  to  church  repair. 

Not  for  the  doctrine,  but  the  music  there. 

These  equal  syllables  alone  require, 

Though  oft  the  ear  the  open  vowels  tire ; 

While  expletives  their  feeble  aid  do  join. 

And  ten  low  words  oft  creep  in  one  dull  line : 

While  they  ring  round  the  same  unvaried  chimes. 

With  sure  returns  of  still  expected  rhymes. 

Where'er  you  find  "  the  cooling  western  breeze," 

In  the  next  line  it  "whispers  through  the  trees." 

If  crystal  streams  "with  pleasing  murmurs  creep," 

The  reader's  threatened  (not  in  vain)  with  "  sleep." 

Then  at  the  last  and  only  couplet  fraught 

With  some  unmeaning  thing  they  call  a  thought, 

A  needless  Alexandrine  ends  the  song, 

That,  like  a  wounded  snake,  drags  its  slow  length  along. 

Leave  such  to  tune  there  own  dull  rhymes  and  know 
What's  roundly  smooth  or  languishingly  slow, 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Poetry.       267 

And  praise  the  easy  vigor  of  a  line 

Where  Denham's  strength  and  Waller's  sweetness  join. 

True  ease  in  writing  comes  from  art,  not  chance, 

As  those  move  easiest  who  have  learned  to  dance. 

Tis  not  enough  no  harshness  gives  offence. 

The  sound  must  seem  an  echo  to  the  sense. 

Soft  is  the  strain  when  Zephyr  gently  blows. 

And  the  smooth  stream  in  smoother  numbers  flows ; 

But  when  loud  surges  lash  the  sounding  shore, 

The  hoarse,  rough  verse  should  like  the  torrent  roar. 

When  Ajax  strives  some  rock's  vast  weight  to  throw, 

The  line  too  labors,  and  the  words  move  slow. 

Not  so  when  swift  Camilla  scours  the  plain. 

Flies  o'er  the  unbending  corn,  and  skims  along  the  main. 

Hear  how  Timotheus'  varied  lays  surprise, 

And  bid  alternate  passions  fall  and  rise ! 

While,  at  each  change,  the  son  of  Libyan  Jove 

Now  burns  with  glory,  and  then  melts  with  love. 

Now  his  fierce  eyes  with  sparkling  fury  glow, 

Now  sighs  steal  out,  and  tears  begin  to  flow ; 

Persians  and  Greeks  like  turns  of  nature  found, 

And  the  world's  victor  stood  subdued  by  sound. 

The  power  of  music  all  our  hearts  allow. 

And  what  Timotheus  was  is  Dryden  now. 

Avoid  extremes,  and  shun  the  fault  of  such 
Who  still  are  pleased  too  little  or  too  much. 
At  every  trifle  scorn  to  take  offence — 
That  always  shows  great  pride  and  little  sense. 
Those  heads,  as  stomachs,  are  not  sure  the  best 
Which  nauseate  all,  and  nothing  can  digest. 
Yet  let  not  each  gay  turn  thy  rapture  move. 
For  fools  admire,  but  men  of  sense  approve. 
As  things  seem  large  which  we  through  mists  descry, 
Dulness  is  ever  apt  to  magnify. 

Pope. 


268  Productions — Poetry, 


6.   Cyriack,  this  three  years'  day  these  eyes,  though  clear, 
To  outward  view  of  blemish  or  of  spot. 
Bereft  of  light,  their  seeing  have  forgot ; 
Nor  to  their  idle  orbs  doth  sight  appear 

Of  sun  or  moon  or  star,  throughout  the  year. 
Or  man  or  woman.     Yet  I  argue  not 
Against  Heaven's  hand  or  will,  nor  bate  a  jot 
Of  heart  or  hope,  but  still  bear  up  and  steer 

Right  onward.     What  supports  me  dost  thou  ask  } 

The  conscience,  friend,  to  have  lost  them  overplied 
In  Liberty's  defence,  my  noble  task. 

Of  which  all  Europe  rings  from  side  to  side. 

This  thought  might  lead  me  through  the  world's 

vain  mask 
Content,  though  blind,  had  I  no  better  guide. 

Milton. 

7.  And  what  is  so  rare  as  a  day  in  June  ? 
Then,  if  ever,  come  perfect  days ; 
Then  Heaven  tries  the  earth  if  it  be  in  tune. 
And  over  it  softly  her  warm  ear  lays. 
Whether  we  look,  or  whether  we  listen, 
We  hear  life  murmur,  or  see  it  glisten  ; 
Every  clod  feels  a  stir  of  might, 
An  instinct  within  it  that  reaches  and  towers, 
And,  groping  blindly  above  it  for  light, 
Climbs  to  a  soul  in  grass  and  flowers. 
The  flush  of  life  may  well  be  seen 
Thrilling  back  over  hills  and  valleys ; 
The  cowslip  startles  in  meadows  green, 
The  buttercup  catches  the  sun  in  its  chalice, 
And  there's  never  a  leaf  nor  a  blade  too  mean 
To  be  some  happy  creature's  palace. 
The  little  bird  sits  at  his  door  in  the  sun, 
Atilt,  like  a  blossom  among  the  leaves. 
And  lets  his  illumined  being  o'errun 
With  the  deluge  of  summer  it  receives ; 
His  mate  feels  the  eggs  beneath  her  wings, 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Poetry,         269 


And  the  heart  in  her  dumb  breast  flutters  and  sings. 
He  sings  to  the  wide  world  and  she  to  her  nest,— 
In  the  nice  ear  of  Nature  which  song  is  the  best? 

Now  is  the  high  tide  of  the  year, 

And  whatever  of  life  hath  ebbed  away 

Comes  flooding  back  with  a  ripply  cheer. 

Into  every  bare  inlet  and  creek  and  bay. 

Now  the  heart  is  so  full  that  a  drop  over-fills  it, 

We  are  happy  now  because  God  wills  it  ; 

No  matter  how  barren  the  past  may  have  been, 

'Tis  enough  for  us  now  that  the  leaves  are  green ; 

We  sit  in  the  warm  shade,  and  feel  right  well 

How  the  sap  creeps  up  and  the  blossoms  swell ; 

We  may  shut  our  eyes,  but  we  cannot  help  knowing 

That  skies  are  clear  and  grass  is  growing. 

The  breeze  comes  whispering  in  our  ear 

That  dandelions  are  blossoming  near. 

That  maize  has  sprouted,  that  streams  are  flowing, 

That  the  river  is  bluer  than  the  sky. 

That  the  robin  is  plastering  his  house  hard  by ; 

And  if  the  breeze  kept  the  good  news  back, 

For  other  couriers  we  should  not  lack ; 

We  could  guess  it  all  by  yon  heifer's  lowing, — 

And  hark  !  how  clear  bold  chanticleer. 

Warmed  with  the  new  wine  of  the  year, 

Tells  all  in  his  lusty  crowing ! 

Joy  comes,  grief  goes,  we  know  not  how ; 

Everything  is  happy  now. 

Everything  is  upward  striving ; 

'Tis  as  easy  now  for  the  heart  to  be  true 

As  for  grass  to  be  green  or  skies  to  be  blue, — • 

Tis  the  natural  way  of  living. 

Who  knows  whither  the  clouds  have  fled  ? 

In  the  unscarred  heavens  they  leave  no  wake ; 

And  the  eyes  forget  the  tears  they  have  shed, 

The  heart  forgets  ks  sorrow  and  ache ; 


2  70  Prodttctions — Poetry, 

The  soul  partakes  the  season's  youth, 
And  the  sulphurous  rifts  of  passion  and  woe 
Lie  deep  'neath  a  silence,  pure  and  smooth, 
Like  burnt-out  craters  healed  with  snow. 
What  wonder  if  Sir  Launfal  now 
Remembered  the  keeping  of  his  vow? 

Lowell. 


8.  Time  was,  ere  yet  in  these  degenerate  days 
Ignoble  themes  obtained  mistaken  praise. 
When  sense  and  wit  with  poesy  allied, 
No  fabled  graces,  flourished  side  by  side, 
From  the  same  fount  their  inspiration  drew, 
And,  reared  by  taste,  bloomed  fairer  as  they  grew. 
Then,  in  this  happy  isle,  a  Pope's  pure  strain 
Sought  the  rapt  soul  to  charm,  nor  sought  in  vain : 
A  polished  nation's  praise  aspired  to  claim, 
And  raised  the  people's,  as  the  poet's  fame. 
Like  him  great  Dryden  poured  the  tide  of  song 
In  stream  less  smooth,  indeed,  yet  doubly  strong. 
Then  Congreve's  scenes  could  cheer,  or  Otway's  melt ; 
For  nature  then  an  English  audience  felt. 
But  why  these  names,  or  greater  still,  retrace, 
When  all  to  feebler  bards  resign  their  place  ? 
Yet  to  such  times  our  lingering  looks  are  cast, 
When  taste  and  reason  with  those  times  are  past. 
Now  look  around,  and  turn  each  trifling  page. 
Survey  the  precious  works  that  please  the  age ; 
This  truth,  at  least,  let  satire's  self  allow, 
No  dearth  of  bards  can  be  complained  of  now. 
The  loaded  press  beneath  her  labor  groans, 
And  printers'  devils  shake  their  weary  bones. 
While  Southey's  epics  cram  the  creaking  shelves. 
And  Little's  lyrics  shine  in  hot-pressed  twelves. 

Thus  saith  the  preacher :  "  Nought  beneath  the  sun 
Is  new,"  yet  still  from  change  to  change  we  run. 


Extracts  f 07^  the  Study  of  Poetry.         271 

What  varied  wonders  tempt  us  as  they  pass! 
The  cow-pox,  tractors,  galvanism,  and  gas 
In  turns  appear,  to  mal^e  the  vulgar  stare, 
Till  the  swoln  bubble  bursts,  and  all  is  air! 
Nor  less  new  schools  of  Poetry  arise, 
Where  dull  pretenders  grapple  for  the  prize. 
O'er  taste  awhile  these  pseudo-bards  prevail, 
Each  country  book-club  bows  the  knee  to  Baal, 
And,  hurling  lawful  genius  from  the  throne, 
Erects  a  shrine  and  idol  of  its  own ; 
Some  leaden  calf — but  whom  it  matters  not. 
From  roaring  Southey  down  to  grovelling  Stott. 

As  for  the  smaller  fry,  who  swarm  in  shoals 
From  silly  Hafiz  up  to  simple  Bowles, 
Why  should  we  call  them  from  their  dark  abode 
In  broad  St.  Giles's  or  in  Tottenham-foad  ? 
Or  (since  some  men  of  fashion  nobly  dare 
To  scrawl  in  verse)  from  Bond  Street  or  the  Square  ? 
If  things  of  ton  their  harmless  lays  mdite, 
Most  wisely  doomed  to  shun  the  public  sight. 
What  harm  ?     In  spite  of  every  critic  elf, 
Sir  T.  may  read  his  stanzas  to  himself; 
Miles  Andrews  still  his  strength  in  couplets  try. 
And  live  in  prologues,  though  his  dramas  die. 
Lords  too  are  bards,  such  things  at  times  befall, 
And  'tis  some  praise  in  peers  to  write  at  all. 
Yet,  did  or  taste  or  reason  sway  the  times. 
Oh  !  who  would  take  their  titles  with  their  rhymes  } 
Roscommon  '  Sheffield  I  with  your  spirits  fled, 
No  future  laurels  deck  a  noble  head ; 
No  muse  will  cheer  with  renovating  smile 
The  paralytic  puling  of  Carlisle. 
The  puny  schoolboy  and  his  early  lay 
Men  pardon,  if  his  follies  pass  away; 
But  who  forgives  the  senior's  ceaseless  verse, 
Whose  hairs  grow  hoary  as  his  rhymes  grow  worse? 

Byron. 


272  Productions — Poetry, 

9,  There  was  a  time  when  meadow,  grove,  and  stream, 
The  earth,  and  every  common  sight 
To  me  did  seem 
Apparell'd  in  celestial  light, 
The  glory  and  the  freshness  of  a  dream. 
It  is  not  now  as  it  hath  been  of  yore  ; 
Turn  whereso'er  I  may. 
By  night  or  day. 
The  things  which  I  have  seen  I  now  can  see  no  more. 

The  rainbow  comes  and  goes. 

And  lovely  is  the  rose  ; 

The  Moon  doth  with  delight 
Look  round  her  when  the  heavens  are  bare ; 

Waters  on  a  starry  night 

Are  beautiful  and  fair  ; 
The  sunshine  is  a  glorious  birth  ; 
But  yet  I  know,  where'er  I  go, 
That  there  hath  passed  away  a  glory  from  the  earth. 

Now,  while  the  birds  thus  sing  a  joyous  song, 
And  while  the  young  lambs  bound 
As  to  the  tabor's  sound. 
To  me  alone  there  came  a  thought  of  grief  ; 
A  timely  utterance  gave  that  thought  relief, 

And  I  again  am  strong. 
The  cataracts  blow  their  trumpets  from  the  steep ; 
No  more  shall  grief  of  mine  the  season  wrong ; 
I  hear  the  echoes  through  the  mountains  throng; 
The  winds  come  to  me  from  the  fields  of  sleep. 
And  all  the  earth  is  gay ; 

Land  and  sea 
Give  themselves  up  to  jollity. 
And  with  the  heart  of  May 
Doth  every  beast  keep  holiday  ; — 
Thou  child  of  joy, 
Shout  round  me,  let  me  hear  thy  shouts,  thou  happy 
Shepherd-boy. 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Poetry,         27; 

Ye  blessed  creatures,  I  have  heard  the  call 

Ye  to  each  other  make  ;  I  see 
The  heavens  laugh  with  you  in  your  jubilee ; 
My  heart  is  at  your  festival, 
My  head  hath  its  coronal, 
The  fulness  of  your  bliss  I  feel — I  feel  it  all. 
Oh,  evil  day  !  if  I  were  sullen 
While  Earth  herself  is  adorning, 
This  sweet  May-morning, 
And  the  children  are  culling 

On  every  side, 
In  a  thousand  valleys,  far  and  wide, 
Fresh  flowers ;  while  the  sun  shines  warm. 
And  the  babe  leaps  up  on  his  mother's  arm  : 
I  hear,  I  hear,  with  joy  I  hear ! — 
But  there's  a  Tree,  of  many,  one, 
A  single  Field  which  I  have  looked  upon, 
Both  of  them  speak  of  something  that  is  gone. 
The  Pansy  at  my  feet 
Doth  the  same  tale  repeat. 
Whither  is  fled  the  visionary  gleam  ? 
Where  is  it  now,  the  glory  and  the  dream  ? 

Our  birth  is  but  a  sleep  and  a  forgetting; 
The  soul  that  rises  with  us,  our  life's  star, 

Hath  had  elsewhere  its  setting 
And  Cometh  from  afar. 

Not  in  entire  forgetfulness. 

And  not  in  utter  nakedness. 
But  trailing  clouds  of  glory  do  we  come 

From  God,  who  is  our  home. 
Heaven  lies  about  us  in  our  infancy! 
Shades  of  the  prison-house  begin  to  close 

Upon  the  growing  boy, 
But  he  beholds  the  light,  and  whence  it  flows, 

He  sees  it  in  his  joy; 
The  youth,  who  daily  farther  from  the  East 
Must  travel,  still  is  Nature's  Priest, 


2  74  Prodtictions — Poetry, 

And  by  the  vision  splendid 
Is  on  his  way  attended. 
At  length  the  man  perceives  it  die  away, 
And  fade  into  the  light  of  common  day. 


Oh  joy !  that  in  our  embers 

Is  something  that  doth  live, 

That  nature  yet  remembers 

What  was  so  fugitive  ! 
The  thought  of  our  past  years  in  me  doth  breed 
Perpetual  benediction  ;  not  indeed 
For  that  which  is  most  worthy  to  be  blest, — 
Delight  and  liberty,  the  simple  creed 
Of  childhood,  whether  busy  or  at  rest. 
With  new-fledged  hope  still  fluttering,  in  his  breast : 
Not  for  these  I  raise 

The  song  of  thanks  and  praise, 

But  for  those  obstinate  questionings 

Of  sense  and  outward  things ; 

Fallings  from  us,  vanishings. 

Blank  misgivings  of  a  Creature 
Moving  about  in  worlds  not  realized. 
High  instincts,  before  which  our  mortal  Nature 
Did  tremble  like  a  guilty  thing  surprised  ; 

But  for  those  first  affections. 

Those  shadowy  recollections. 

Which,  be  they  what  they  may. 
Are  yet  the  fountain-light  of  all  our  day. 
Are  yet  a  master-light  of  all  our  seeing; 
Uphold  us,  cherish,  and  have  power  to  make 
Our  noisy  years  seem  moments  in  the  being 
Of  the  eternal  Silence  :  truths  that  wake 

To  perish  never  ; 
Which  neither  listlessness  nor  mad  endeavor 
Nor  man  nor  boy 

Nor  all  that  is  at  enmity  with  joy 

Can  utterly  abolish  or  destroy. 


Extracts  for  the  Study  of  Poetry.        :2  75 

Hence  in  a  season  of  calm  weather, 
Though  inland  far  we  be, 
Our  souls  have  sight  of  that  immortal  sea 
Which  brought  us  hither, 
Can  in  a  moment  travel  thither, 
And  see  the  children  sport  upon  the  shore. 
And  hear  the  mighty  waters  rolling  evermore. 

Then  sing,  ye  Birds,  sing,  sing  a  joyous  song, 
And  let  the  young  Lambs  bound 
As  to  the  tabor's  sound. 
We  in  thought  will  join  your  throng, 
Ye  that  pipe,  and  ye  that  play. 
Ye  that  through  your  hearts  to-day 
Feel  the  gladness  of  the  May. 

What  though  the  radiance  which  was  once  so  bright 

Be  now  for  ever  taken  from  my  sight. 

Though  nothing  can  bring  back  the  hour 

Of  splendor  in  the  grass,  of  glory  in  the  flower  ! 
We  will  grieve  not,  rather  find 
Strength  in  what  remains  behind — 
In  the  primal  sympathy 
Which  having  been  must  ever  be ; 
In  the  soothing  thoughts  that  spring 
Out  of  human  suffering ; 
In  the  faith  that  looks  through  death. 
In  years  that  bring  the  philosophic  mind. 

And,  O  ye  Fountains,  Meadows,  Hills,  and  Groves, 
Forebode  not  any  severing  of  our  loves. 
Yet  in  my  heart  of  hearts  I  feel  your  might ; 
I  only  have  relinquished  one  delight 
To  live  beneath  your  more  habitual  sway. 
I  love  the  Brooks,  which  down  their  channels  fret, 
Even  more  than  when  I  tripped  lightly  as  they ; 
The  innocent  brightness  of  a  new-born  Day 
Is  lovely  yet. 


2  j6  Productions — Poetry, 


The  clouds  that  gather  round  the  setting  sun 
Do  take  a  sober  coloring  from  an  eye 
That  hath  kept  watch  o'er  man's  mortality; 
Another  race  hath  been,  and  other  palms  are  won. 
Thanks  to  the  human  heart  by  which  we  live, 
Thanks  to  its  tenderness,  its  joys,  and  fears. 
To  me  the  meanest  flower  that  blows  can  give 
Thoughts  that  do  often  lie  too  deep  for  tears. 

Wordsworth. 

To  the  Teacher. — Ask  your  pupils  to  read  this  matchless  poem 
again  and  again.  Read  it  for  them  and  with  them,  till  they  catch 
something  of  its  "deep  and  strong  undercurrent  of  thought,"  and  of 
its  majestic  movement.  Hudson  says,  "One  may  converse  with  it 
every  day  for  a  lifetime,  without  exhausting  its  significance." 


THE    END. 


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